Standing on the Sky
by Aiko-chan
Summary: When trying to return home after a visit in Cephiro, the Knights find themselves unable to return to their world. And perhaps even stranger, Presea is plagued by odd, chilling dreams that foreshadow something dark and deadly. *Complete*
1. Standing on the Sky - 1.1

Standing on the Sky - Part One, Chapter One **Standing on the Sky  
Part One, Chapter One  
By Aiko-chan  
  
  
  
****Prolouge**   
  


The July morning was warm, not as hot or humid as was characteristic of the season. However, nobody would complain. It was a refreshing sign that the heat wave that had hung over Tokyo for the past week had finally passed, or was at least giving the inhabitants mercy.  


Shidou Hikaru stepped through the open back door to her home, announcing, "We're back!" Her dog, Hikari, passed her and went into the house, where he lay down at the feet of one of Hikaru's older brothers, Masaru, who was sitting in a chair at the kitchen table.  


"Ohayo, Hikaru-chan," he said as she walked in and opened up the refrigerator. "Did Hikari enjoy his walk?"  


"Yup." The red-haired sixteen-year-old pulled a carton of milk out of the fridge, then made a face, turning to her brother. "I thought Okaa-san bought more milk. This carton's empty."  


Masaru motioned with his hand. "It's in the back of the fridge. You can blame Kakeru for not throwing that away."  


The redhead sighed, tossing the empty carton into the trash can and taking the full one from the back of the refrigerator. She poured herself a glass of milk and downed it quickly, then put the carton back in the fridge, the glass in the sink, and headed for the door again.  


"Hey, where are you going in such a hurry?" Masaru asked as Hikaru reached the doorway.  


"To see Fuu-chan and Umi-chan," the short girl called over her shoulder, shutting the door behind her.  


Hikaru's fifteen-minute jog took her to Tokyo Tower. Rushing up to the spot where she was supposed to meet her friends, she found the two of them waiting there, both looking as though they were beginning to get concerned over Hikaru's absence.  


"Hikaru-san," Fuu said as the petite redhead bent over, resting her hands on her knees and gasping for breath, "you are almost twenty minutes late. Are you all right?"  


As Hikaru nodded breathlessly, Umi suggested, "Then shouldn't we go, since Hikaru's here now?"  


"Hai," the cranberry-eyed girl responded, finding her breath again. She stood up straight, taking the hands of her two friends. "Let's go."  


Hands joined, the threesome closed their eyes, summoning their will. Within moments, a bright flash of light filled the room. When it faded, the three teenage girls were gone.  
  


_________________________________________________________________________________  
  
  
_The world is quiet  
Like there is no one around,  
But I feel you beside me.  
I know the secrets  
You keep locked away inside,  
Don't understand why you are fighting.  
  
- Be A Man, Aqua_   
  
_________________________________________________________________________________ 

  
  
  
**Chapter One**   
  


"Ah ha!" Umi grinned, turning to her group of friends, hands on her hips. "Was that a great shot or what?"  


Fuu smiled, clasping her hands before her. "Yes it was, Umi-san. You're very good at aureale."  


As the blue-haired girl smiled proudly, Ascot nodded in agreement. "It's sorta hard to begin with. I'm surprised you picked it up so fast, Umi."  


"Well, Fuu's good, too," Umi said with a smile, trying not to sound quite so full of herself, "and she's a beginner, too."  


"Although I'm afraid we can't say the same for Hikaru," Ferio added, staring over at Hikaru, who was furiously trying to knock her ball past a pole stuck in the ground. But the yellow wooden sphere kept striking the pole and bouncing back, causing the redhead more and more frustration.  


"It's just like croquet!" she squealed, dropping the golf club-like bat she was using to hit the ball and kicking it instead. The yellow ball rolled past the pole, and Hikaru's teammates all sighed with relief.  


"Actually, this game _is_ a little like croquet, or perhaps golf," Fuu noted as Presea patted Hikaru's shoulder, calming the petite girl. "You hit the ball past a series of scattered poles to get it into a hole at the end."  


"Hey," Umi said in a tone of mock anger, "are you guys copying games from our world?" She wagged her finger in Ferio's face. "That's not nice!"  


The green-haired prince stepped back, looking rather nervous. Fuu laughed softly, placing her hand on Umi's arm and lowering it. "Now now, Umi-san..."  


"Waa! You got your ball in, Caldina!" rejoiced Hikaru, clapping her hands. She turned and grinned at Fuu's team, flashing a "V" sign and grinning. "Five points for us!"  


"But isn't it two points when a ball goes in the hole?" Zazu asked, scratching his head.  


Hikaru stopped celebrating and pondered a moment. "I don't know," she said finally. "We're both new to this... Is it two or five, Presea?"  


"Neither. It's three," the blond woman said, smiling as Hikaru resumed her celebration, jumping up and down and crying, "Three points for us!"  


"Oy!" All eight people assembled turned their heads as Geo called out to them. "Food!"  


"Yay!" Hikaru dashed forward, grabbing Umi and Fuu's hands, dragging them towards the doorway where Geo stood. "We get to eat now!" Her companions laughed as the exuberant girl pulled them past a sweatdropping Geo and back inside the castle.  
  
  


--------------------

  
  


"Ah, gotta love Cephiro's food," sighed Umi as they exited the dining hall about an hour later. "I wish I could eat here every day."  


"Ano, we _do_ eat here almost every day, Umi-chan," Hikaru said. "We visit at least every other day." Umi grinned sheepishly, then reached over to ruffle Hikaru's red hair. "Hey!"  


Ferio shook his head, smiling, then leaned down to kiss Fuu's cheek softly. "Thanks for coming to see us today," he said with a smile. "Come back as soon as you can."  


The blond girl smiled back at him, taking his hand in hers breifly and giving it a small squeeze. "I promise."  


Umi smiled, winking at the pair. "Aw, how sweet," she teased.  


"Ah, Umi, don't tease them," Ascot chided as Fuu blushed slightly. He pulled the blue-haired girl into a quick embrace. "See you tomorrow."  


She smiled up at the tall boy. "Hai." Then she noticed Hikaru standing alone. "Aren't you going to say 'bye' to Lantis, Hikaru?"  


"He's not here," the short girl replied, blinking and looking around. "He was with us while we were eating... Where did he go?"  


"I don't know..."  


"I'll give you a hug!" Zazu offered, throwing his arms around his friend.  


Hikaru laughed, hugging him back. "Okay, Zazu-kun, okay! I'll see you next time." She let go of the dark-haired boy, then went around in a little circle, hugging each of their friends in turn before joining Fuu and Umi.  


Joining hands, the three glanced back at their friends in a final farewell before closing their eyes and focusing their thoughts on the will to return home. However, unlike most times when they could get back to Earth without difficulty, the three girls found themselves standing there for a prolonged period of time. Almost in unison, although unaware of the others' throughts, they all focused even more upon their wish to go back to Earth. Still, nothing happened.  


After a long moment of silence, Umi snapped her head up and cried in frustration, "Why isn't it working?"  


Fuu opened her eyes as well as the threesome dropped hands. "I do not know, Umi-san. Were we all concentrating fully on returning home?" Both Hikaru and Umi nodded vigorously, and Fuu cast her emerald eyes downward, her brow furrowed as she thought hard. "It doesn't make sense..."  


Nobody moved for a while. Everyone seemed to be pondering the reason for the girls' difficulty in leaving Cephiro, standing in silence. Finally, Hikaru suggested, "We should try again."  


They did. Umi, Fuu, and Hikaru stood for even longer than the last time, trying to leave Cephiro, narrowing their minds desperately to their one thought, their wish to go home. But still, after trying and trying until they were mentally exhausted, they remained standing there. Ferio, Presea, and all the rest stood a few steps away, watching the girls in silent worry. It was an unusual occurance, and a frustrating one.  


"This isn't _fair_!" Umi broke the silence. "I'm giving myself a headache and it's not working."  


"Something's wrong," Hikaru said quietly. "We should be able to go home."  


Clef focused his gaze upon her. "Are you sure you can't return home?" The redhead nodded in response. "Then I would suggest that we find you a place to stay. If you can't get home, you'll be staying here." He turned to the blond woman to his left. "Presea?"  


She nodded, moving forward towards the three girls. "Let's get you girls rooms, okay?" she said gently. "You look awfully tired."  


Hikaru nodded mutely in response, and Presea put her hand on the petite girl's shoulder. She motioned for Fuu and Umi to follow, then led the girls down the wide hall.  
  
  


--------------------

  
  


Umi sighed, pulling the nightgown that had been supplied for her over her head as they prepared for bed. "This is really bothering me," she said, folding her clothes and setting them on a chair. "Something feels... strange."  


"I know," Hikaru muttered, trying to yank a hairbrush through the back of her hair. "Something _does_ feel wrong. Oh, arigatou, Fuu-chan," she added as the blond girl came up behind her, smiling, and took the brush from Hikaru, untangling the red waves much more gently than Hikaru had been doing.  


"Well, at least we're safe while we're here," she said as she brushed out Hikaru's hair. "Cephiro is much safer than when we were summoned, and our parents will not worry since they won't know we are gone."  


Umi sat on the edge of her bed, one of the three lined against one wall. "But what if we can never go home? What if we're stuck here forever?"  


"Don't worry, Umi-chan." Hikaru stood up as Fuu finished brushing her hair. "We'll get home eventually." She climbed into the bed nearest the door, sliding under the white covers.  


"Do you think we might need our armor or weapons?" Fuu asked as she took the bed furthest from the door. "Cephiro is peaceful right now, but have there not always been monsters in certain areas? We might have to defend ourselves at some point in our stay."  


"We can worry about that in the morning," Umi sighed, lying on her back with her hands behind her head. "I'm really tired right now. Trying so hard to get home wore me out."  


Hikaru nodded, rolling over onto her side and yawning. "In the morning... and we'll see Mokona, too. We haven't seen him yet."  


"That's also unusual," Fuu said softly, but both of her friends had already drifted off into sleep. Fuu smiled a little, then closed her eyes and let sleep overcome herself as well. 


	2. Standing on the Sky - 1.2

Standing on the Sky - Part One, Chapter Two **Standing on the Sky  
Part One, Chapter Two  
By Aiko-chan  
  
  
**

_Darkness. Sweet, ice-cold darkness. So inviting, so comforting.  
_

If she stepped forward, she would enter it. She would enter the wonderfully desolate shadows. Oh, how she wanted to. Reaching out, she could just barely touch it. Only a bit further, and she'd be swallowed up in it.  


She moved to step forward, but cast a glance over her shoulder in hesitation. The wide, cranberry eyes of the Magic Knight were behind her, wide with curiousity.  


"Where are you going?" the braided girl asked her, her eyes kind. "Why are you leaving?"  


But the Magic Knight would not stop her. She wanted --- no, she **needed** the darkness. It would make her cold, alone, and calm. So calm, so comforted. She turned away from the Magic Knight, moving forward slightly and reaching out her fingertips.  


She touched it, the glorious shadows. It was icy beneath her fingers, icy and wonderful. Closing her eyes, she stepped into the darkness, feeling the wonderful chill sweep over her, the frightened call of the Magic Knight muffled by the blackness: "Presea!"  


Her eyes flew open with a small gasp. Presea found herself staring up at the ceiling, a cold sweat causing her nightclothes to stick to her back uncomfortably.  


The woman sat up slowly, pressing a hand to her forhead. _A dream... a chilling dream._ Such ebony darkness she had seen... had entered, by her own will...  


No, she wanted to shake the creepy dream, not remember it more. Presea climbed out of her bed, the cool floor feeling nice underneath her bare feet. She crossed the room, picking up a brush from the dresser and pulling it through her long blond hair, gazing at her pale reflection. She realized that her hands were trembling slightly, a side affect of the chilling dream. Presea set the brush down again, took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself.  


After a moment of quiet rest to shake the vague, creepy feeling left by the dream, Presea dressed and set out to see whether the girls from another world had awoken yet. The broad, empty halls seemed spookier than they ever had. She mentally slapped herself. _Stop it, Presea, you're only freaking yourself out._  


Reaching the door of the room where the girls had stayed, Presea knocked lightly and called out, "Hikaru? Fuu, Umi?"  


There was the sound of footsteps before the door opened, revealing Umi, dressed in the clothes she had been wearing when they arrived the previous day. "Oh! Ohayo, Presea. Want to come in?"  


The blond woman nodded, stepping into the room as Umi stood aside, closing the door behind her. Fuu standing behind Hikaru in front of the mirror, braiding the short girl's hair for her. They were both also wearing their clothes from before.  


"Good morning," Presea said to the two of them, standing behind Fuu as she finished with Hikaru's hair. "How did you sleep?"  


"Well, Presea-san," Fuu replied. "And you?"  


"Fine," the brown-eyed woman lied. Her sleep had not been peaceful, but she preferred to keep that to herself. "Ano... wouldn't you like to change your clothes?"  


"We don't exactly have any clean ones, Presea," Umi replied, flopping down in a chair nearby the dresser. "It's not like we brought anything with us."  


Presea snapped her fingers. "Easily solved!" she said, crossing the room to the opposite wall. She slid back a door that the girls had noticed before but not acknowledged, revealing a spacious closet full of clothing. "Take your pick."  


"Wow, Presea!" Hikaru poked her head inside the closet. "There's so many clothes!" She flipped through them, then whipped a hanger out. "Oh, you should wear this, Fuu-chan!"  


"It would look cute on you," Umi agreed, observing the simple, jade-colored dress.  


Fuu accepted the clothing as Umi held it out to her. "Well, there are plenty to choose from, Umi-san, Hikaru-san." She smiled. "As Presea-san said, take your pick."  


Presea watched in amusement as Umi looked through the different hangers of clothing, sporadically pulling one down to show Hikaru with a "This one?". Even when Hikaru had chose a knee-length maroon skirt, her blue-haired friend continued flipping through the outfits. At long last, Umi pulled a hanger off, holding the pale, butter-colored dress in front of herself and questioning, "Does this look okay?" Her three companions nodded quickly, relieved that her seemingly endless search was over.  


As the Magic Knights changed into the fresher clothes, Presea sat down on Fuu's bed, cross-legged. "Have you tried to return home yet?"  


"Hai," Hikaru replied, pulling an off-white shirt over her head. "When we first got up, once we were awake. It still isn't working."  


The chocolate-eyed woman sighed, unfolding her legs and standing back up as Fuu finished brushing her hair. "Would you girls like to go to breakfast? It's a little late, so most everyone has already eaten, but we can go down and there'll still be food."  


"Okay!" Hikaru replied, and they followed Presea out of the room and down the spacious hallway.  


As they walked, Umi questioned, "Ne, Presea, have you seen Mokona today?"  


She shook her head. "No, I only just got up, too. I'm sure he's waiting for you girls --- he hasn't seen you yet on this visit, and I'm sure Mokona misses you all." She stopped as they reached a pair of tall doors, indentical to all the others in the maze of hallways. "Here we are. Let's go in." She pulled back one of the doors, opening it with a prolonged creaking sound.  


The four stepped into the warm kitchen, sniffing the delicious scents that lingered in the air, coming from the ovens and stoves. "Ne, Waemi," Presea said, tapping the shoulder of a girl who appeared about thirteen or fourteen in a pale blue apron as she passed. "Could we get a late breakfast?"  


Waemi smiled, tucking her shoulder-length, raven-black hair behind her ear. "Of course, Presea," she aswered. Then she peered around the woman, spying Umi, Hikaru, and Fuu. "Oh! Are you the girls from another world?" They nodded, and Waemi grinned, dashing around Presea to shake their hands. "Oh, it's an honor to meet you, really! I didn't even know you were here! Are you visiting?"  


"Ano... Sort of," Hikaru replied, smiling. "It's nice to meet you, too, Waemi."  


"What're your names?"  


"Hikaru," the redhead replied.  


"And I'm Umi, and this is Fuu," Umi added.  


Waemi grinned again energetically. "It's so great to meet you! I'll get you some fresh kymarle!" She dashed off, her tan skirt billowing behind her, screaming, "Nobyre! Nobyre! You'll never guess who's here!"  


Presea laughed softly, shaking her head. "That's Waemi... Come on, girls. We can sit in the dining hall."  


"Actually," Fuu said quietly, "may I request that we eat in here? It's much warmer and more comfortable than the big dining hall."  


The blond woman smiled at her. "Of course! There's a room to the side where the kitchen workers eat. It's nice and cozy in there. Personally," she continued, leading the girls over to a door on the far wall of the huge kitchen, "I like eating in here myself. I don't get to often, but it's so much nicer. The dining hall _is_ awfully big and drafty." There were a few rows of long tables surrounded by chairs in the room, and she gestured to one near the wall. "We can sit here."  


The four sat down in the wooden chairs, and Umi looked around the small room, smiling. "It _is_ nice in here. I wouldn't mind eating here every day."  


"You could," Presea said. "Nobody would mind, and the kitchen workers would love your company." She smiled. "They might protest and say you'd be lowering yourselves to eat among them, seeing as you're Magic Knights and all, but I know they'd enjoy having you around."  


"Well then, I guess we'll eat in here," Hikaru said with a smile.  


A minute or so later, Waemi came into the room with another girl who looked her age, a little shorter with a long flaxen braid. They were carrying two plates each as they came over to the table.  


"See?" Waemi whispered as she set the plates she carried in front of Hikaru and Fuu. Her friend stared with wide green eyes as she set the other two plates in front of Umi and Presea.  


"I'm Nobyre," she said quietly. "It's very nice to meet you."  


Fuu smiled. "It is nice to meet you as well, Nobyre-san."  


"Oh, no, just Nobyre!"  


Hikaru grinned. "It's no use. Fuu-chan refers to everyone politely."  


Nobyre and Waemi were both grinning from ear to ear in delight. Someone bellowed for them to come back, and they bid farewell to the Magic Knights, waved a goodbye at Presea, then dashed back into the kitchen.  


Umi smiled. "They seemed awfully nice," she said, picking up a hot cake made of whitish bread with honey drizzled on top, biting into it. "Mm..."  


"Try the kymarle," Presea suggested, motioning to some kind of meat spread with a yellow sauce. "It's very good."  


Hikaru picked up her fork, slicing a piece off of the soft meat and bringing it to her mouth. She chewed it, then swallowed, beaming. "Oishi!"  


Trying the kymarle also, Fuu nodded in agreement. "It _is_ very good."  


"Told you so." Presea smiled, lifting one of the honeyed cakes to her mouth.  
  
  


--------------------

  
  


"Oh, it smells wonderful," Fuu sighed, sniffing a small white and yellow flower. She was standing out in one of the flower gardens surrounding the castle, Ferio by her side. He was showing her the different flowers that were being grown by someone named Hamen, the tender to the garden they were in.  


"This is a kasihele," the amber-eyed prince continued. He picked one of the pale viridian blossoms and turned to Fuu, tucking it behind her ear. He smiled, adding, "It goes well with your clothes."  


She smiled back at him, the sunlight dancing off her emerald eyes. "Kasihele... I'll have to remember that," she said softly.  


"I'm glad you're staying for a while," Ferio said, brushing a strand of golden hair away from her face and letting his fingertips rest on her cheek, "even if it isn't by choice."  


"Now Ferio," she reprimanded playfully, "you know that I'd gladly stay here even if not by choice."  


"Suuure..."  


"_Ferio_!" Fuu laughed, squirming as he grabbed her in his strong arms. "Let go!"  


"Nope! You're aaaall mine!" Ferio laughed too, pulling her into a tight hug. He tripped over the bottom of his long cape as the blond girl continued to squirm, causing him to fall back and crash into a bed of azalea-like flowers. "Kuso... Hamen won't be happy about this." He grinned at Fuu, who had fallen half on top of him. "Hello, beautiful."  


"You flirt." She smiled, leaning down and kissing him lightly. "Now you smell nice." Fuu rolled off of him, lying down on her back in the flowers beside Ferio. "So... You say that Hamen-san won't be happy that we are messing up the flowers?"  


He grinned. "Screw Hamen. Being with you here is worth the yelling I'll get." He found her hand, twining their fingers together and gazing up at the bright blue sky. "You're so amazing... You helped make that blue sky."  


"In a sense, perhaps." Fuu squeezed his hand. "But I'd almost rather have it stay stormy if it meant erasing all the pain it caused me." She clamped her other hand over her mouth. "Gomen nasai. That sounded very selfish."  


Ferio rolled onto his side, propping himself up with his elbow. He slipped his hand out of hers and pressed his finger to her lips softly. "Shh... Don't remember things that cause you grief. Instead, look at the present, and be happy." He titled his head to one side. "For me?"  


She smiled. "Anything for you." She shook her head. "You know, you sounded like a fortune cookie there."  


"What's a fortune cookie?"  


"Never mind, Ferio... Never mind."  
  
  


--------------------

  
  


Hikaru scuffed her foot in the grass. "I'm getting kind of worried..."  


"Don't worry, hon!" Caldina reassured, her arm around the short girl's shoulders. "Lantis's okay by himself. I'm sure he's fine, where ever he is."  


The braided teenager averted her eyes, staring down at the grass beneath her feet. "But I still worry..."  


The Chizetan woman smiled. "I'm tellin' ya not to worry, and I mean it. He's okay, I know it." She looked up, blinking with bright blue eyes. "Look, it's that powderpuff."  


Hikaru lifted her gaze, and a white, bouncy object came into her field of vision, crying "Puu!" and bouncing towards her. "Mokona!" she cried, opening her arms as the creature leapt into them. "I missed you, Mokona!"  


"Puu puu!"  


Hikaru smiled, hugging the fluffy white thing to her chest. "It's good to see you, too. You haven't been around."  


"Puu."  


"We're stuck here, Mokona. We can't go home --- nothing works." She looked down at Mokona, who was still grinning. "Well, _you_ don't look worried."  


"Puu puu-puu."  


Caldina shook her head. "How can you understand that thing? All it does is 'puu'."  


"I understand animals easily."  


"Is Mokona an animal?"  


Hikaru laughed nervously. "Ah... I dunno." She looked at the rabbit-eared creature. "Are you an animal, Mokona?"  


"Puu-puu, puu puu."  


"Well?" Caldina asked, her hands on her hips.  


The cranberry-eyed girl laughed nervously again. "Ano... He... says he's hungry..."  


"Well, doesn't that figure." Caldina shook her head, her cotton candy-colored ponytail bouncing from the movement. "You're jus' a li'l ball of puff, ain't ya?" she asked, poking Mokona. "Nothin' more?"  


"Puu."  
  
  


--------------------

  
  


It was close to sunset when Lantis reappeared. Hikaru, Fuu, and Umi had already eaten dinner with the kitchen workers --- much to their delight, especially Waemi and Nobyre --- and the rest of the inhabitants of the huge building were nearly finished with their meal in the dining hall. The Magic Knights had been on their way back to their room to get to bed early, so they wouldn't be late for breakfast again in the morning.  


Passing the huge doors that stood at the front entrance to the castle, Fuu glanced out one of the circular windows at the door's side and gasped. "Hikaru-san, it's Lantis-san!"  


"Lantis? Is he okay?" Hikaru rushed to the window, letting out a sigh of relief. "Oh, good, he's all right."  


She waited with her friends inside, standing by the window as the door opened slightly and the tall, dark-haired man stepped inside, his footsteps echoing through the halls. As he quietly shut the door behind him, he noticed the three girls standing at the window. He turned to them, noting the expectant look on Hikaru's face, and asked, "Yes?"  


"Are you okay?" she asked softly, although she had already confirmed to herself that he was. The redhead stepped towards him, looking up at him in worry. "You've been gone a whole day's worth..."  


Lantis knelt down in front of her, bringing himself to eye level with the short girl. He rested his hands on her shoulders, responding, "I'm fine."  


Hikaru's eyes filled with happiness. "I was worried about you!" She threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tight. "Don't do that again, okay? Don't just vanish without a trace. I didn't know if you were all right or not."  


He smiled slightly, resting his hand on the back of her head. "I assure you... I'm all right."  


"Awwww..." Hikaru glanced back over her shoulder, only to see Fuu smiling and Umi, who had "Awwww"ed, grinning at her. A slight blush crept across Hikaru's face, and she released Lantis from her embrace.  


"Ano... We're going to be in Cephiro for a while, Lantis," she explained, tugging on her braid. "We... can't seem to be able to get home. We don't know why."  


Lantis's expression faltered for a moment, but only an instant. Then he said, "Well, I hope you have somewhere to stay. I'd be the one worried if you didn't."  


Hikaru smiled. "No, we're staying here. It's okay."  


He nodded. "All right. I'll see you tomorrow, then." Lantis smiled at her warmly, then stood back up and headed off down one hall.  


As the redhead stared after him, she heard Umi mutter, "He must really like you, Hikaru. I don't recall ever seeing that guy smile." 


	3. Standing on the Sky - 1.3

Standing on the Sky - Part One, Chapter Three **Standing on the Sky  
Part One, Chapter Three  
By Aiko-chan  
  
  
**

When Fuu awoke, the sky was ash-colored, with a trace of dusty blue. Through the window in their room, she could see that the sun had barely peeked over the horizon. Dawn was breaking, slowly.  


The blond girl crept out of bed so as not to awaken her slumbering friends. She silently opened their closet door, selecting a simple tan skirt and going into the bathroom off of their room.  


Fuu pulled her nightgown over her head and stepped into the bath. The warm water relaxed her as she slid down underneath it, letting out a soft sigh.  


_Something feels eerie about this,_ she thought, her gaze wandering up to the ceiling. _Something is very out of place._  


She dwelled upon that thought for a while. Ever since they had been unable to leave Cephiro, Fuu had felt that there was something wrong. Umi and Hikaru had expressed that they noticed it as well. _But there is no reason to dwell upon things, Fuu,_ she chided herself, climbing out of the bath. _You will probably have a relaxing time in Cephiro until we figure out how to get home._  


Fuu pulled on the tan skirt and shirt and quietly exited the bathroom. She sat on her bed as she brushed out her hair, looking out the window and watching the sun come up. After a moment's thought, the blond girl stood up and went back to the closet. She selected a white apron, tying it around her waist, and silently passed the sleeping Hikaru and Umi, slipping out of the room.  


Remembering the way that Presea had led them the previous morning, the viridian-eyed girl crept through the dim halls towards the kitchen, silent so as to not awake anyone. When she reached the tall doors to the kitchen, she knocked and stepped back.  


After a moment the door swung upon, revealing a thin boy holding a circular tray at his side. "Yes?" he asked.  


"My name is Fuu," the blond girl replied. "May I come in and speak to Waemi?"  


The boy's eyes widened. "Ne, are you one of the Magic Knights?" Fuu nodded. "Oh, Waemi and Nobyre have been babbling about you nonstop!" He stepped to the side. "Come on in!"  


"Arigatou gozaimasu." Fuu walked into the kitchen, smiling. It was warm inside and, just like the previous morning, the smells of the foods being prepared hung in the air delightfully. Fuu smiled, walking over to a vertical row of ovens where Waemi was bent over, putting something in the lowest one. "Waemi-san?"  


The younger girl jerked up fast, her sapphire eyes wide. "Oh! Fuu-san!" She beamed, shutting the oven. "Why're you here? It's too early for breakfast."  


"I know. I was hoping I might be able to help out," Fuu explained, smiling.  


"Oh, no, we couldn't ask you to do that!"  


"You are not asking me to. I'm requesting it."  


Waemi thought for a moment before replying, "Well, if you want to, why not?" She grinned, grabbing Fuu's hand. "Come on, you can help me and my friends over here."  


The exuberant girl led Fuu over to a table where four other girls, about Waemi's age, were working. Two of them were kneading dough, another was mixing something in a huge bowl, and the fourth, whom Fuu recognized as Nobyre, was spreading the contents of the bowl over fist-sized loaves of bread. "Minna-chan," Waemi announced, grinning proudly, "this is Fuu, the Magic Knight! She wants to help us this morning."  


Fuu smiled as grins spread across the girls' faces. They three girls that Fuu did not know quickly introduced themselves as Yeiry, Hedaimo, and Larumele. The one stirring the mixture in the bowl, Larumele, beamed as Fuu came to stand beside her. "I'm mixing up the spread for the bread that they're making," she explained. "If you want to, you can help me crush the fruit for it." As Fuu nodded, the younger girl with auburn pigtails pointed to a jar of marble-sized yellow berries. "Those are themins," she said. "You can crush those up on here with that round thing over there."  


Fuu smiled, picking up the rounded-ended wooden cylindar that Larumele had spoken of and took a fistful of the themins out of the jar, setting them on the thin wooden slab before her. She pressed the rounded end of the cylindar down on the berries and turned it, squishing them. "Like this?" Larumele nodded, picking up what looked like a salt shaker and sprinkled something into the bowl, then continued stirring.  


As she continued crushing the yellow berries, Fuu watched the other young girls working at the table. Yeiry and Hedaimo, the girls kneading the dough for the bread, were chatting with Nobyre about someone called Kujin. Larumele kept giggling and blushing, at which her friends teased her. Waemi dashed back and forth between the many ovens and the table, taking the dough over to back and bringing back the finished loaves for Nobyre to spread with the fruit mixture that Larumele and Fuu were making. They mostly talked amongst themselves, but after ten or so minutes Yeiry asked, "Ne, Fuu-san, do _you_ have a boyfriend?"  


Fuu's cheeks pinked slightly, but she smiled at the younger girl. "Hai, Yeiry-san."  


"Ooooh!" Nobyre squealed. "Who is it? Is it someone here or in your world?"  


Fuu gave the berries to Larumele to put in her bowl and then beginning to crush some more. "Ferio," she replied, a smile on her face.  


"Ferio-_ouji_?!" half of the girls squealed in unison. "Oh, Fuu-san, you're so lucky!" cried Waemi, clasping her hands. "The prince is so handsome... He has the most gorgeous golden eyes..."  


"Waemi-chan, the bread is burning," Hedaimo said calmly.  


"Ah!" The black-haired girl sprinted back to the oven in a rush.  


Fuu laughed softly, pausing in her task for a moment to gaze off into space. "He _does_ have beautiful eyes..."  


Larumele nodded in agreement. "Yeah... And beautiful hair, and a beautiful nose, and---"  


"A beautiful _nose_?" Nobyre asked. Larumele blushed.  


"Yeah, and what about _Kujin_?" Yeiry added, grinning.  


Looking up, Fuu asked as Larumele blushed, "Who is Kujin?"  


Waemi, who was returning from the ovens, heard the question and set the tray of baked bread down on the table for Nobyre to attend to. "Kujin's this guy who works here in the kitchen," she answered, grinning at Larumele as her pigtailed friend's face flushed. "He's fifteen and really cute. Larumele-chan's got a crush on him."  


Fuu watched as the auburn-haired girl began mixing the spread in the bowl furiously, not looking up at her friends. She smiled, turning back to the themins sitting on the wood and began to crush them again.  
  
  


--------------------

  
  


_The cold air touched her skin --- no, it wasn't the air. Was there air? She couldn't tell. But she felt cold, so icily cold. And she savored it.  
_

She suspected that it was the shadows themselves that caused the tingling chill upon her face. She had long since entered them, had been standing in silence a long time. Did she have to be silent? Wondering, she spoke. Whatever words that had formed in her throat did not go past there. She was surrounded by perfect silence, perfect darkness, perfect cold.  


It seemed very empty, but perhaps it was not. She stepped deeper into the dark, not cautiously, but rather boldly. She felt comfortable, calm. She was not afraid. But why should she be? Had she not stepped into the shadows by her own will in the first place? Of course. She wouldn't have come in if she had had doubts. Would she?  


No.  


Walking through the inky blackness, she did not hear her own footsteps. She didn't even feel the ground beneath her feet. Was there a ground? She couldn't tell. She didn't care.  


She supposed she **was** walking through dead air. Well, she had always wondered how it would feel to fly. This was close enough, she guessed.  


Then she saw it. Just ahead, only a few steps away. Through the darkness came a small beam of light, illuminating a thin slice of it. She could scarcely see it, for the light was narrow, but if she looked a bit harder---  


Presea awoke. No gasp of surprise escaped her lungs this time. She had awoken from the first dream involuntarily. She had forced herself to awaken from this one. But although she had awoken by her own will, Presea still found herself in a cold sweat, still found her heart beating quite fast.  


The dream didn't scare her, not the kind of fear that would make one scream. Neither of them had, so she couldn't call them nightmares. They were just chilling, creepy. Somehow they dug deep into her, making her feel spooked and slightly panicky for a moment when she woke up.  


Presea stared up at the ceiling for a long time, focusing completely on the smooth, blank whiteness of it. The previous morning, wakening from the disturbing dream, it had stuck with her for a while. She hoped that by focusing entirely upon anything else --- even the ceiling --- she might be able to force the traces of the dream still there out of her mind.  


It didn't work. Not well, at least. She finally sighed and sat up, sitting on the edge of her bed. Presea rested her elbows on her knees and set her head in her hands. She hadn't wanted another chapter in the chilling dream, but it had come, and it looked as though there might be more in the future.  
  
  


--------------------

  
  


"There! There there there!" Larumele almost jumped out of her chair, pointing excitedly.  


"_Where_?"  


"Right _there_, Umi-san!" The auburn-haired girl grinned wildly. "The one coming in! Look at him!"  


"So that is Kujin-san," Fuu said.  


Larumele nodded enthusiastically. "Isn't he just perfectly gorgeous?" She gasped as the tall boy turned to look their way with gold eyes, and she quickly returned to her breakfast, her face burning.  


"You're very obvious, Larumele-chan," Hedaimo said, resting her chin in her hand. Her friend grinned sheepishly.  


"Oh, don't tease," Yeiry said, flicking a little crumb of toasted bread at Hedaimo. "I seem to recall your little infatuation with a certain Ferio-ouji a couple years back."  


"You liked Ferio?" Hikaru asked the younger girl.  


Hedaimo's cheeks flushed, and she twisted a strand of chocolate-brown hair around her fingertip. "Ano..."  


Umi grinned. "Oh, how cute. Ferio _is_ attractive, ne, Fuu?"  


The blond girl smiled, nodding. "Hai... very much." She smiled, reaching over and patting Hedaimo's shoulder. "I understand, Hedaimo-san."  


"You're so _lucky_, Fuu-san!" Nobyre sighed, popping a few themins into her mouth. "To be Ferio-ouji's girlfriend... That's something the rest of us only dream about."  


"Not me," Larumele said. She smiled, taking a themin from Nobyre's plate. "_I_ dream about Kujin."  


"You _dream_ about him?!" Waemi squealed. "What kind of dreams?"  


Larumele's face flushed. "Oh, Larumele-chan, you're bad!" Yeiry cried, only causing the pigtailed girl's cheeks to grow pinker.  


Umi smiled, watching the younger girls squeal and tease Larumele. "This is so nice," she said softly, glancing at her friends. "To just relax and enjoy ourselves here."  


Nodding, Hikaru added, "Hai, it helps me forget about why we're still here."  


Fuu stared down at her breakfast quietly. She didn't like to think about their situation --- it made her uncomfortable. She was sure it made Umi and Hikaru feel that way, too. _Perhaps talking about it helps them,_ she thought, _but it does not reassure me in the least._


	4. Standing on the Sky - 1.4

Standing on the Sky - Part One, Chapter Four **Standing on the Sky  
Part One, Chapter Four  
By Aiko-chan  
  
  
**

Umi sat down in the rich green grass, smoothing her white skirt. "I hope I don't get grass stains on this," she murmured, folding her legs to one side.  


"It's not like you can't wash them out," Hikaru replied. She had her legs crossed and was resting her elbows on her knees, leaning forward slightly with her arms folded. "And I'd say it's worth it to sit out here in the sunshine."  


"Hai." Fuu spun a kisahele in her fingers as she sat facing her two friends. "It is a beautiful day." She smiled, staring at the viridescent blossom. "Nicer than most days at home, really."  


"Oh!" Her blue-haired friend waved her hand around, getting their attention as she remembered something. "Did you hear that horrible storm a few nights ago?"  


Hikaru nodded vigorously, replying, "Yeah! Two days before we came. It woke me up, and Hikari kept scratching at the door. He was scared, too."  


The blond girl nodded in agreement. "It was frightening," Fuu said, picking a petal off the kisahele. "It woke me up as well." She smiled a little. "I... wished Ferio was there to comfort me."  


"Aww, that's so sweet." Umi grinned, and Fuu grinned back, attempting to throw one of the green petals at her friend, but it drifted to the ground before it even reached her. "Hey now! Hikaru, isn't Fuu mean?" There was no response. Umi turned to her redheaded friend. "Hikaru?"  


She was staring past the bushes near them, her brow furrowed, her cranberry eyes slightly narrowed. Hikaru held up one hand, signaling for her friends to be quiet before she silently got to her hands and knees and crept across the grass.  


Fuu and Umi watched in silence as Hikaru knelt behind the bushes, peering through them to the fountain on the other side. After a moment, she beckoned them to come over.  


Her friends quietly sneaked over to her, crouching on either side of Hikaru. She nodded forwards slightly, casting her gaze between the bushes. Umi and Fuu followed her eyes to the fountain beyond them.  


Lantis was standing on the stone circle around the fountain. Presea, her brown eyes narrowed in anger, had stepped up on the ledge at the edge of the pool where the water cascaded into so she could look the dark-haired man in the eye. She was speaking in a low voice, pointing her finger at him. The three girls in the bushes couldn't hear her words, but they could hear her tone of anger.  


"... much longer!" the blond woman cried, raising her voice a bit. Lantis said something in return, his voice calm. Presea balked, then fiercely replied, "You don't know that!" Then she lowered her voice again, continuing for a few more moments. Her quiet tone grew angrier as she finished her statement. Then Presea stepped down from the ledge and turned to head down one path leading away from the fountain. Then she paused, turning around to face Lantis again, saying in a clearer voice, "And I expect you to keep it that way." Then she turned again and stalked off down the path, disappearing between two tall rows of bushes. Lantis stared after her a moment, looked up at the sky, and then headed away down a different path.  


Umi turned to her two friends after Lantis had gone. "What was all that about?" she asked, her sapphire eyes wide.  


"I don't know." Hikaru was still staring out at the fountain.  


"I think Presea-san is keeping something from us," Fuu said in a quiet voice. Umi nodded silently in agreement as the blond girl continued. "It may just be me, but she has seemed a bit more quiet than usual lately."  


Hikaru sighed softly, rising to her feet and brushing off her skirt. "I guess," she replied quietly. Her gaze drifted up to the sky, just as Lantis's had. _Is Lantis hiding something, too? Why was he gone so long before? I wish I knew..._  
  
  


--------------------

  
  


She giggled softly, touching the fingertips of her hands together lightly. "The time is drawing near," she said in a small voice, her mouth spread in a wide grin as she spoke. "It won't be much longer."  


Climbing out of her chair, she crossed the dim room to the opposite wall. She smiled into the mirror that hung on the stone wall, tilting her head to one side, and said, "Spirit of my mother, please show your face."  


Her reflection in the mirror shimmered, shifting out of view as the smokey face of a young woman took its place. She smiled faintly, her cerulean eyes rather sad. "Why have you contacted me, my dear?"  


"It's almost time, Mama," she replied. "It's almost time."  


"Will you make it?" her mother asked, resting her fingertips on her side of the glass.  


She nodded. "Oh yes, Mama. I have the aid of you all, and I have been taught well." She smiled, reaching out and touching the cool glass of the mirror where the transparent fingers of her mother were. "Tell Papa I said hello."  


"I will. Now go rest, my dear. You must be tired from all that work."  


"Yes, Mama." She watched as the ghostly woman's face faded and her own reflection took its place again. "Thank you, Mama." Then she turned on her heel, heading to the corner of the small room to climb into bed and sleep.  
  
  


--------------------

  
  


Fuu pushed a small piece of bread around on her plate with her fork, sliding it in the sauces left over from dinner. She stared at the little chunk of bread that was still a little warm, with that fruit spread Umi liked and little flecks of spices on it, half-listening to the conversation at the table. An eruption of giggles caused her to shift her gaze from the bread and glance up at the other girls at the table.  


"The expression on your face was _priceless_," Waemi managed through her giggles, her hand on the shoulder of Larumele, whose face was red as she cast her blue eyes downward at the tabletop.  


"Your eyes got huge and you have this goofy grin on your face," Yeiry added, grinning.  


Fuu blinked, setting down her fork. "Gomen ne, Yeiry-san, I missed it. What happened?"  


"Oh, it was great, Fuu-san!" Waemi was grinning, patting Larumele on the back. "Kujin walked by, and Nobyre-chan said, 'Hi, Kujin-san'. And then he smiled and said hi back, then he looked at Larumele-chan and nodded and smiled and said, 'Konban wa, Larumele.' And she grinned at him with this really funny expression and went, 'Hi, K-Kujin-san!'" Waemi pinched Larumele's cheek. "You were so cute!"  


Fuu smiled as Umi leaned across the table, chiding, "Oh, don't tease Larumele, Waemi." The black-haired girl responded, "Oh, but it's so fun, Umi-san!" as Larumele glared at her.  


Shaking her head with a small smile on her face, Fuu watched as Larumele and Waemi began bickering back and forth across the table. Yeiry flicked a crumb at them, which seemed to be a habit of hers, as she told them they were being childish, to which her two friends stuck their tongues out at her and then continued their argument.  


Fuu was about to stab the leftover bread on her plate with her fork and choke it down, because although she wasn't hungry, she knew she should try to finish her dinner. However, before she could even lift her fork, the blond girl felt a sudden pain like someone had slammed a rock against the back of her head.  


"Fuu-san!" Nobyre and Hedaimo cried in unision as Fuu doubled over in her chair, clutching her head in her hands. Umi leapt to her feet, dashing around the side of the table and bending over at her friend's side, her hands on Fuu's shoulders as she tried to help her sit up. "Fuu!"  


Her friend's emerald eyes were squeezed tightly shut as the pain surged through her head. Her ears were ringing along with the pain, as though something heavy had impacted with her head, but she hadn't felt anything touch her, just the pain.  


Then, as Fuu gritted her teeth and clutched her forehead, she saw Presea. Fuu tried to ignore it, to just force the pain away, but she found herself being sucked into the image.  


_There was a field. A huge field, extending as far as Fuu could see in all directions except one. In front of her, instead of more tall grass and wildflowers, in place of the bumblebees and the perfect blue sky, was solid blackness. Shadows took the place of everything else.  
_

Presea stood between Fuu and the ebony wall. The blond woman was facing the blackness, and Fuu could see that she was trembling as the shadows rippled slightly and a small figure emerged.  


In silent helplessness, Fuu watched as a little girl, no older than eight or nine, stepped out from the shadows and paused in front of Presea. The girl had short brown hair cut just beneath her ears, and her wide, red eyes stood out on her pale face. She was wearing a yellow dress that laced up in the front with long, cuffed sleeves and a hemmed skirt that touched the toes of her black shoes. She had on a tan tunic with black trim, tied at the waist with a strip of leather. At her left side, hanging off the leather belt, the little girl wore a plain leather pouch, identical in drab brown color to the belt.  


The small girl didn't speak, but instead pulled the drawstrings on the pouch at her side, opening it. She pulled out a tan strip of cloth like a ribbon, then closed the pouch again, tying the drawstrings. She tucked her hair behind her ears, then tied the tan cloth around her head like a headband.  


For whatever reason, this seemed to satisfy the little girl. She smoothed out her skirt, then walked up to Presea, who was still standing and staring into the shadows, trembling.  


The brown-haired girl paced slowly around Presea, resting her right elbow in her left hand, her right hand curled in a loose fist under her chin with her first finger and thumb resting on the pale skin of her chin. She traced the same circular path around the tall woman for a short while, then stopped in front of her. The small girl reached out, taking both of Presea's hands in hers.  


"Papa is unhappy, Farl Presea," said the girl in a small voice that was, to Fuu, surprisingly strong. "Papa is also angry. Papa wants to happy again, because Papa is in the happy place with Mama and all the people they love except me. So I have to help Papa and Mama be happy." She smiled, and Fuu shivered as she saw that it was a wicked looking smile. "You will help me help Papa and Mama be happy, Farl Presea."  


"How?" Presea's voice was shaky, quiet.  


"Blood."  


"Nani?" Presea's coffee-brown eyes widened as she stared down at the little girl. "Blood?"  


The child nodded gleefully. "Blood will make Papa and Mama happy. Lots of blood and lots of tears and lots of pain."  


"My blood?"  


"Oh no, Farl Presea. Never your blood." The small girl grinned wider. "But you will make the blood flow."  


Presea shook her head. "I don't want to!"  


"You do not have a choice. Papa knows. He told me. I will make the pain in your head, and you will make the blood flow.  


"Now come with me, Farl Presea." The crimson-eyed child released one of Presea's hands but held the other one tighter, leading her towards the darkness.  


Presea's eyes were wide with fear. "I don't want to go!"  


"You will! If you do not come now, Farl Presea, I will make the pain in your head."  


"I don't understand you!"  


The little girl giggled. "Very well, Farl Presea. Very well." Then she let go of the blond woman's hand and skipped through the brightly colored flowers as though she were the happiest child in the world, disappearing into the cold shadows.  


"Presea!" Fuu cried as the image faded. She leapt up from the table, pushing Umi away and racing out of the room.  


She ran through the kitchen, out into the hall, and down the wide hallway. Fuu ran past the bedroom she shared with Umi and Hikaru and past the dining hall. She ran until she reached the main doors of the castle. Then Fuu dragged one of the heavy doors open and ran outside into the evening sunlight.  


The blond girl stumbled down the marble steps, speeding down a long stone pathway towards the gardens she and Ferio liked to spend their afternoons in. She ran between the rows of flowers and vines crawling on the walls. Then she was past the gardens, running through the tall rows of bushes twice as high as her own height. She could see the fountain where Presea had been talking with Lantis that morning.  


Fuu finally passed out of the bushes, slowing down and stopping on the round stone walkway that circled the big fountain. She was panting now --- she didn't normally run so much or so fast.  


Not really knowing why, nor caring why, Fuu stepped over the marble ledge, getting into the knee-deep water. She stepped off of the small underwater ledge, and the water came all the way up her thighs to her hips, nearly to her waist.  


Fuu dragged herself through the water, her billowy skirt slowing her down. She walked beneath the falling water, soaking her hair and the rest of her sky-blue dress. Her jade eyes were brimming with tears as she passed the cascade, entering the chilly shadows cast by the setting sun beneath the huge overhead bowl from which the water spilled. There was a ledge about three feet wide that jutted out from the pillar that held up the bowl, acting as a base, and Fuu hoisted herself up on the cold stone. She sat down, leaning back against the pillar and drawing her knees to her chest, hugging them with her arms. Fuu lowered her face to her knees, closing her eyes and shivering with cold as her quiet sobs were drowned out by the falling water.  
  
  


--------------------

  
  


When he had been told that Fuu had run away suddenly, Ferio had wanted to go find her immediatly. However, Hikaru and Umi had told him that she would be back by morning, he knew they were right. They both knew Fuu as well as he did, and she was not the kind to run away from anything. "She probably wanted to think about something," Umi said. "You know she won't go far, either." Still, Ferio felt an uneasiness in her stomach as he tried to sleep, and he decided to get up early to wait.  


True to the promise he had made himself, Ferio awoke at dawn with only a few hours of sleep. After he had dressed, the golden-eyed prince found himself feeling antsy, so he headed out into the gardens for a walk.  


As he wandered through the rows of brightly colored blossoms that had just opened up with the sun, Ferio stopped in front of one of the walls. There were dark green vines crawling across it, covered in pastel blue flowers as big as his hand. He lightly touched one of the long, thin petals that curved out and downward from the cup-like shape of the flower, then gently plucked it from the vine. He would give it to Fuu when he saw her.  


Ferio continued walking down the stone path, the morning sun warm on his face as it cleared the dew from the flowers and their leaves. He left the flower gardens and began walking down between the high rows of bushes.  


Spinning the blue flower between his thumb and middle finger absently, Ferio's amber gaze drifted to the brightening sky as his footsteps on the cold stone echoed slightly in the quiet morning. The only other sound was that of the birds chirping in the trees at the edges of the gardens, and those were far away.  


He continued down the path until her emerged from between the rows of bushes. The white marble fountain, which was almost twice as tall as himself, cascaded water down from the bowl supported by the large pillar in the middle, the water reflecting the early sun as it poured into the pool below. The reflection of the sunlight was bright, making Ferio squint as he walked over and sat down on the ledge at the edge of the pool.  


The prince sat down cross-legged on the ledge, staring into the falling water, his eyes squinted against the sun. Resting his chin in his hand, his fingers curled against his jaw, Ferio saw a patch of blue beyond the cascade, standing out against the white of the marble.  


_Fuu was wearing a blue dress yesterday._ Immediatly, Ferio slid off the ledge into the fountain pool, wading through the deep water. He passed underneath the shower from above, emerging on the other side.  


Fuu was curled up in a little ball, asleep on the base of the pillar. Her hair was damp and her sky-blue dress was wet as well, and she was shivering slightly in her sleep. Ferio climbed up on the base next to her, pulling her up and holding her cold body close to his. "Fuu!" He shook her shoulder slightly to wake her.  


The blond's emerald eyes opened slowly. "Hm?"  


Ferio held her close to him, both of them wet. "Fuu, you're soaked! Why on earth did you walk through the fountain?"  


"I don't know." Fuu drew her legs up to her torso, leaning against Ferio. He was wetter than she was, since he had just been through the water and she had dried a little overnight, but he was warmer than her all the same.  


Ferio sighed, rubbing her back as she snuggled up to him. "You must be freezing." Fuu nodded. "You were out here all night." He put his hands on her shoulders, holding her away from him so he could look at her face. "You're so pale. Why didn't you come back in?"  


"I don't know..." Tears welled up in Fuu's sad eyes as she gazed up at him. "Ferio, I'm afraid."  


"Of _what_?" Ferio hugged her close again, comforting her. "Cephiro's a safe place. Even if it wasn't, I'd protect you. Nothing can hurt you."  


Fuu shook her head, her eyes squeezed shut. "You don't understand. Presea-san... Presea-san is going to kill someone."  


"Nani?!" Ferio looked down at her. "What are you talking about?!"  


Fuu sniffed slightly, grasping a fold of his shirt in her hand. "I got a headache last night at dinner, and then I saw... I don't know. A big field with a wall of shadows on one side. Presea-san was there. A little girl came out of the shadows. She told Presea-san... She said said, 'Papa is unhappy, Farl Presea... Blood will make Papa happy. You will make the blood flow.'  


"Then she told Presea-san that she would make her kill someone. Not in those words, but that's what she said.  


"She took Presea-san's hand and told her to go back with her into the shadows. Presea-san said she wouldn't, so the little girl said, 'Very well, Farl Presea,' and went back into the shadows."  


Fuu put one hand to her chin, thinking. "It was very strange... The girl said Presea-san's name in almost every sentence she spoke, and she always addressed her by title." The blond girl glanced up to see Ferio looking at her. "This sounds crazy, doesn't it?"  


Ferio nodded, but he smiled a little. "Yeah, it sounds a little crazy. But I believe you."  


"Really?"  


"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"  


Fuu shrugged. "I don't know. I suppose it just sounds so odd... Even to myself."  


"Well, I don't know whether what you saw was true or not," Ferio said, "but I _do_ know that you need to warm up and get some proper rest. You couldn't have slept well out here."  


She smiled. "I did not."  


"Well then, we'll have to get you back inside." Ferio scooped Fuu up in his arms, climbing off the ledge. He leaned over, shielding her as he walked under the falling water, then carried her out of the fountain. He set her down on the stone walkway and picked up the blue flower that he had dropped there. "When you get back, get yourself a hot bath, something to eat, and then go back to bed, okay? Here, this is for you," he continued, handing her the cup-shaped flower. "It's called a fylen. I would've picked you a kasihele, but I didn't see any."  


Fuu smiled, holding the fylen delicately between her hands. "I love it."  


He smiled in return. "Good. I thought you would."  


Ferio put one arm around her small waist, resting the other hand on her arm closest to him as they walked back up the long stone walkway, back up to the castle.  



	5. Standing on the Sky - 1.5

Standing on the Sky - Part One, Chapter Five **Standing on the Sky  
Part One, Chapter Five  
By Aiko-chan  
  
  
**

_The thin stream of light illuminated only a tiny slice of whatever was ahead. She couldn't figure out where the light came from, since there was perfect darkness all around, but that wasn't the important thing. The important thing was finding out what the thing was.  
_

She walked foward on the air, stepping boldly closer to it. Within a few strides, she was right in front of it.  


As she watched, the light washed over it, and she saw that it really wasn't light at all. It was an eerie glow, illuminating from the thing itself, making it visible in the shadows. She had noticed that she had that same glow about herself, making her able to see her own feet step through the air.  


As the glow spread, she could see that it wasn't a thing, but a person. A pale little girl, with blood-red eyes and light brown hair cut short, tied with a tan ribbon as a headband. She wore a plain yellow dress and tan tunic, with a small leather pouch at her side.  


"Hello," the girl said in a small but firm voice. "I have been waiting for you, Farl Presea."  


"How do you know my name?" she asked the little girl.  


"I know many things about you, Farl Presea."  


She stared at the child, and for the first time since she had entered it, the coldness of the shadows did not feel comforting. She felt a tightness in her chest as the icyness around her grew oppressing.  


"What... what is you name?" she choked out.  


"I am Cerise," the red-eyed girl said with a small giggle.  


She took a deep breath, trying not to look into Cerise's eyes. "Why are you waiting for me in here?"  


"I am the one who lured you here." There was a wicked glint in Cerise's eyes. "Did you feel like the shadows would be wonderful?" She did not answer, and the little girl giggled. "Oh, you did, you did! But they aren't nice anymore, are they? They're just cold now."  


"Why did you bring me here?" she asked, her hands folded at her chest. She wanted Cerise to go away so that the bleak blackness would cradle her in calmness again.  


"So I could tell you of you job." Cerise was grinning evilly. "Papa and Mama are in the happy place, but they are unhappy. That's not right. Papa and Mama want to be happy. They won't be happy until the blood flows. You will make the blood flow, Farl Presea."  


Her throat tightened. "Me?"  


"Yes."  


"Why me?"  


Cerise was still grinning. "Papa and Mama do not want my little hands stained by blood. Farl Presea, you must make the blood flow." The small girl's grin changed to a dangerous scowl. "And if you do not listen to me, I will make the pain in your head. The pain in your head will be worse. Surrender to me and make the blood flow, or I will make the pain in your head. Papa taught me how."  


"I won't kill anyone!" she yelled. Her voice echoed in the emptiness around them.  


Cerise grinned once again. "Very well, Farl Presea. Very well." The glow surrounding Cerise began to fade. "Now, their lives shall be ruined, and it will be your fault." The glow faded completely, and the child was gone.  


She stood in the air for a few seconds longer after Cerise disappeared, the cold and the shadows pressing against her frighteningly. Then, without warning, the darkness shattered like a fallen mirror, broke into a million shards around her. She fell, away from the darkness, down into the hole of nothing, nothing at all.  


A scream escaped Presea's throat as she jolted awake. It was a short, small scream, but enough to frighten herself even more.  


Her chocolate-brown eyes were wide with fear as Presea stared up at the ceiling, breathing hard, her heart racing. The first two dreams hadn't scared her, just left her with a chilling feeling. The dream she had just had probably wouldn't scare some people, but it terrified her.  


She didn't move, clutching the bedsheets as she waited for her heart to slow its pace. Presea's gaze was focused on the plain white ceiling, but the blood-red eyes and pale face of Cerise still lingered in her mind.  


_You will make the blood flow, Farl Presea._  


She knew they weren't just dreams anymore. They weren't just random things pulled from her subconcious. Presea didn't know whether they were symbolic or whether they were literal, but she knew the dreams were real.  


Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat, Presea finally pushed the sheets away from herself. They were damp from her sweat.  


The blond woman climbed out of bed, crossing the room on shaky legs to the bathroom. Shutting the door firmly behind herself, Presea knelt at the side of the inground pool that served as a bathtub. She removed the cover from the hole in the side of it. Hot water gushed out, beginning to fill up the bath.  


Presea pulled her sweaty nightgown over her head, tossing it in a pile on the floor. She stepped into the half-filled bath, sitting on the small underwater ledge on one side, waiting for it to fill. Once the water reached her shoulders, Presea reached over, resealing the waterspout.  


She ducked under the surface. The warm, relaxing water felt good against her clammy skin.  


Resurfacing, Presea folded her arms, staring at the surface of the water, troubled. After a moment's thought, she decided --- she would have to tell someone about her dreams. She knew they were real, and they were telling her something. She needed help to find out what.  


"But who?" she asked the still surface of the water. "Who could I tell?" It didn't answer. It wasn't like she had expected a reply.  


Presea stayed in the bath longer than usual. She felt safer than she had when she had awaken. The warm water and quiet echo from the bare walls when she spoke comforted her, somehow. However, although she got to relax longer than usual, she didn't get to stay in as long as she wanted.  


She jumped in surprise when there was a loud bang on the door. "Presea-san!" She recognized the voice. It was Fuu. She sounded desperate.  


"Hold on a minute." Presea climbed out of the bath, drying off and squeezing excess water out of her hair as quickly as possible, not bothering to tie it up in a ponytail as usual. She pulled on her clothes in a rush, then flung the door open, revealing a frightened-looking Fuu. "What's wrong?"  


Fuu looked Presea over, and relief washed over her face. "Oh, you're all right." She took on of the woman's hands as her expression became grave. "Presea-san, come with me. We need to talk."  


Presea nodded, and the emerald-eyed girl turned, leading her out of the bathroom, out her Presea's room, and down the long hall.  


Presea allowed Fuu to lead her through the flower gardens and past the maze-like rows of bushes. The blond teenager stopped on the circular stone walkway that surrounded the white marble fountain.  


Fuu sat down on the ledge at the edge of the pool. Presea followed her lead, sitting next to the sixteen-year-old. Fuu took a deep breath, then spoke.  


"This is where I spent the night last night." She pointed past the cascading water, to the base of the pillar in the middle of the fountain. "In there. I ran out here because I wanted to escape what I saw.  


"Last night at dinner, I suddenly received a powerful headache. I do not know where it came from.  


"The pain quickly faded, and instead, I saw something." Fuu's eyes were locked on her hands, which were clasped in her lap. "I saw a huge field, full of tall grass and wildflowers. On one side was a wall of shadows. You were standing in front of it. 

"You were trembling as a little girl came out of the shadows. She had brown hair and pale skin, and eyes the color of blood. She could not have been older than nine.  


"She spoke to you, Presea-san, and addressed you by title. Farl Presea."  


Presea listened with a tightness in her chest as Fuu repeated the words that she had heard the little girl speak. They were not identical to the ones Cerise had spoken to her in her dream, but the message was the same. It was the confirmation of the fears that Presea had felt when Fuu described the girl's looks and how she addressed Presea by title. She knew that the little girl that Fuu saw was Cerise.  


The woman's hands were clenched tightly together, grasping the hem of her tunic as Fuu finished her story. The teenage girl looked at Presea. "Presea-san, I fear for you. I'm afraid that what the little girl said was true.  


"In what I saw, you did not go with her by you own will. As she said, I'm now afraid that she will 'make the pain in your head', whatever that may mean. I'm afraid she will make you kill someone on behalf of her father."  


Presea opened her mouth to speak, but the words never made it to her lips.  


A pain like none she had ever felt hit her. Presea let out a small cry, clutching her head in her hands much as Fuu had done the previous night when the headache had struck her. However, Presea felt many times more pain than the Magic Knight had, and she pressed her hands to her head more desperately.  


She quickly realized that the pain was not in her head. That is, it wasn't physical pain. The searing feeling was in her mind, her conciousness.  


The pain surged through her mind, ripping at thoughts, tearing at her concious. Presea's vision grew blurred, so she shut her eyes against it, and against the pain.  


The intensity of it grew to a point where Presea couldn't stand it. She struggled to hold on to concious thought, but the pain hit her harder, ripping her conciousness from mental hands.  


Fuu watched in horror as dark blue flames engulfed Presea. A scream escaped the woman's throat, whether from pain or matching terror Fuu did not know.  


The intensity of the flames grew as Fuu watched; she could feel the heat from them. Through the blue waves of fire, the blond girl could see that the dim shape of Presea that she could see was wavering, shifting. As she watched, the screaming woman disappeared completely, and the fire around her went out immediatly.  


"Presea-san!" Fuu leapt to her feet in surprise. She touched the spot where Presea had sat, as if believing that the woman was still there. Although she had felt the heat of the fire, the marble wasn't even burned. In fact, it was as cool as before. Presea couldn't have burned. The woman had disappeared. "_Presea-san_!!!"  
  
  


--------------------

  
  


Cerise sat on the edge of her bed, hugging her knees to her chest, a grin on her lips. She had done it. She had made the pain in Farl Presea's head, just like Papa had showed her to. He was proud of her. There were only a few more steps before he and Mama could be happy.  


She knew that her guest would not arrive for a little bit longer, so Cerise climbed down off the bed and walked over to the mirror on the wall. She took it off the wall, setting it on the floor so it leaned against the wall, then sat down on the cold stone floor. She wanted to sit.  


"Spirits of my mother and father, please show your faces."  


Cerise's pale reflection shifted out of view. The smokey faces of the cerulean-eyed woman and a man with dark hair and a thick beard appeared in its place. A smile spread across Cerise's lips. "I'm glad you came, Papa, Mama."  


"We will always come to speak with you, my child," the sad-eyed woman said with a smile.  


"We are proud of you," said the man in a strong voice. "I am proud of you." He smiled kindly at the pale girl. "You are doing the right thing, you know."  


Cerise nodded. "Yes, Papa, and I am happy that you're proud of me, but I want to ask a question."  


"Go ahead."  


The red-eyed child stared at the floor, tracing an invisible circle on the stone with one finger. "Before you went to the happy place, when you used to be here with me, you told me making blood flow was bad. You said killing was bad." She didn't lift her face, but raised her gaze to meet his dark red one. "I trust you, Papa. I just want to know why it's not bad anymore."  


A grim expression crossed his face. "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."  


"What does that mean, Papa?"  


"It means that when someone wrongs you, justice must be served, my dear," the woman answered sadly. "It pains us that you must carry the burden of bringing that justice to the ones who wronged your papa and I, but there is no other way. We hope that you can forgive us of that."  


"Oh, always, Mama." Cerise smiled. "I'm not mad that it's my job. I only wanted to know why."  


"Now you do," said the man. He touched one finger of his strong hand to his side of the glass, pointing at her. "Remember, Cerise. Even though we are making you carry our duties, we love you. If we could do it ourselves, we would."  


"I understand, Papa." Cerise heard a crackling sound. She looked over her shoulder and saw a column of dark blue flames forming. "Oh, I have to go now. The key to your happiness is coming." She turned back to the man and the woman with a smile. "I love you, Mama." She leaned over, kissing the mirror where the woman's face was. "I love you, Papa." She kissed the spot where the man's face was. "I will work fast, so that you can be happy."  


"Thank you, sweetheart," the woman said, smiling kindly.  


The man nodded. "We love you as well. Now hurry."  


"Yes, Papa." The man and woman's faces shifted from view again, leaving only her own reflection.  


Cerise got to her feet, turning around as the column of blue fire disappeared, leaving a frightened-looking blond woman standing in its place. Her long hair was messy, and her clothing was rumpled. Cerise smiled.  


"Come with me, Farl Presea. I will show you what to do." She reached out, taking the woman's hand. Cerise led her out the heavy wooden door, down the spiral staircase, down to the first floor of the castle.  


The pale child led the woman down the steps for a few minutes. Cerise's room was on the very top floor, and her mother's room was on the first floor. That was where they needed to go.  


"I wish Meline was here to help me," Cerise sighed as they reached the bottom of the stairs. As the crossed the great hall to the opposite side, she continued, "But Meline can't come out, so I'll have to do my best."  


Cerise let go of the blond woman's hand as they reached a wooden door, similair to the one from her own room. This door, however, had a tiny dove carved into the frame. "This is Mama's room," the pale girl announced as the swung the door open.  


After she had gently pulled the silent woman into the room, Cerise pointed to the bed in the corner. "Please sit, Farl Presea. I'll get the things you need."  


Hesitantly, the woman sat down on the bed. The matress was thick and soft, and the covers were made of a familiar material. Wool? Yes, that was it. She pulled her legs up on the pale blue covers, crossing them.  


She rested her elbows on her knees, folding her hands in front of her as she watched Cerise bustling about the closets. Her long, dark blond hair spilled down over her shoulders, the last foot or so resting on the robin's egg-colored blankets. The tips curled up a little. She grimaced slightly in annoyance; she wanted desperately to tie the long, shiny locks up.  


After a few minutes, Cerise came back over to her, holding a large bundle at her side. "Please stand up, Farl Presea."  


The woman had a pounding headache, and wasn't in the mood to argue, even with a little girl. She stood up, and Cerise unfolded the things in the bundle, laying them out carefully on the bed.  


"Mama showed me how," she said as she smoothed out the cloth. "She showed me how to get you ready. Papa showed me what to do with you.  


"Take off what you're wearing, please, Farl Presea."  


"Why?" The woman hugged her arms around herself, gripping her elbows. "Why should I?"  


"You have to change into these clothes instead." Cerise looked up at her with blood-red eyes. "Please, Farl Presea."  


The woman sighed. "All right, all right." Cerise smiled.  


She undressed, standing in her underclothing as Cerise picked up a pair of tight black leggings from the bed. "Put these on, Farl Presea." The blond woman stuck one foot in one of the legs, pulling it up, then the other foot in the other leg. She pulled the waist of the leggings up until they were on completely.  


"Thank you. Now, Farl Presea," Cerise continued, holding out a black shirt, also skintight, "please put this on as well."  


The woman took the shirt from the pale little girl, pulling it over her head. She pulled it down all the way. The sleeves were an inch wide, with a low-scooped collar, and the bottom of the shirt didn't even reach halfway down her middle.  


"Now, Farl Presea, I have to help you on with this." Cerise was holding a large piece of black cloth. "Please kneel, Farl Presea."  


The woman lowered herself to her knees, her arms at her sides. Cerise walked behind her, draping the cloth around the woman's shoulders. "Lift your arms straight out to your sides, Farl Presea." The woman obeyed, and Cerise pulled the cloth back under her arms and wrapped it around the tops again, forming long sleeves that reached her wrists.  


"Keep your arms out." Cerise walked out in front of her, taking the ends of the cloth and wrapping one across the woman's chest and around her back, then the other. She repeated the process over her stomach, pulling the two ends tight in front of her.  


Cerise tucked the tip of the end she held in her right hand through a slit in the end she held in her left hand. The pale girl folded the cloth that had gone through the slit back again,tucking the tip through the slit a second time.  


"You may stand up now, Farl Presea."  


The woman stood. The skintight leggings and the wrapped, long-sleeved shirt were comfortable; she found she could move easily in them. She did a few stretches as Cerise returned to the bed, fetching another item of clothing.  


"Now put this on, Farl Presea." The brown-haired girl held a dark red, short-skirted dress with sleeves like the first shirt the woman had put on out to her. Without objection, the woman pulled the dress over her head. Cerise looked at her, and then, after a moment's thought, took a strip of black cloth, identical to the kind the shirt was made of, and tied it securly around the woman's waist, acting as a belt. The skirt, which had slits up to the belt on both sides, reached a few inches short of halfway down her thighs.  


Cerise took a pair of boots and gloves from the bed. She held the boots, matching in color to the dress, out to the blond woman, who took them. She pulled them on, finding that they fit snugly and reached the bottoms of her knees. Then she took the red gloves that Cerise held out to her, pulling them on.  


Looking at the gloves, the woman noticed that on the back of the hand on the ledt glove was a red jewel, an even darker red than the glove itself. She asked Cerise what it's purpose was.  


"That allows you to call weapons to yourself, and to use magic against your enemy. Kneel, Farl Presea." The woman kneeled again, and Cerise stood behind her, brushing out her long hair. "I don't know how it works, but Mama told be that it would."  


After she brushed out the woman's hair, Cerise pulled it back in a ponytail, securing it with a piece of black cloth, similair to the tan one she wore as a headband in her own hair. The pale girl smiled as the woman stood, looking her over. "Yes, this is as Mama told me. You will make the blood flow well, Farl Presea.  


"I know that you do not remember your name, or how you came here. The pain in your head saw to that. But you don't remember the pain. You don't remember anything. So I will tell you."  


Cerise sat on the edge of her mother's empty bed. The woman sat next to her.  


"Your given name was Presea. Your former title was Farl Presea. Now you will be called just Presea. The ones that you fight will recognize you by that name. Giving you a different name would cause confusion, and Papa said that would get in the way.  


"Your job is to do as I command you to, and fight for Papa and Mama." Tears glistened in the child's blood-red eyes. "Papa and Mama are in the happy place, but they are not happy, and that isn't right. You have to make the blood flow so that they'll be happy."  


Presea nodded. "How do I make the blood flow? Whose?"  


"You will use your weapons --- any weapon you will to come from the jewel into your hand --- and the magic that Papa taught me to give to you to make the blood flow." Cerise's eyes burned with hate through the tears. "The ones whose blood you will make flow are the blood of the Magic Knights.  


"The Magic Knights killed Papa! They killed Mama!" Cerise had turned her head and was facing Presea now. The tears in her eyes had spilled out, and they ran down her cheeks in the torchlight. "When they killed Emeraude-hime, they killed Cephiro! The bad things that happened when she died killed Papa. The ground shook, and a big rock fell on him. Then Mama died from sadness!" Cerise's small hands were clenched tightly as she vented her anger. "Meline took care of me, but Meline is away now! Meline can't take care of me! All I have is talking to Papa and Mama through the mirror, but their faces are so sad I can hardly stand to see them!  


"All I can do is what they ask!" Cerise grasped Presea's hands in her own fiercely. "They want the blood of the Magic Knights to flow. They want the Magic Knights dead so that they will be happy, and all the other people that the Magic Knights killed will be happy." Her eyes were wide, desperate. "Please, Presea, you must kill them. You must make Papa and Mama happy."  


A faint smile came to Presea's lips. "I will do as you ask..."  


"Cerise."  


"Cerise-san." Presea nodded, the light from the torches on the walls reflecting off her chocolate-colored eyes. "I will let you command me. I will kill the Magic Knights."  


Cerise grinned. "Papa told me not to hug you. He said it would soften you. But if I was allowed, I would." She turned from Presea, wiping the tears from her cheeks, turning back to the items from the bundle on the bed. "Now I will finish getting you ready to kill the Magic Knights."  
  
  
End of Part One  



	6. Standing on the Sky - 1.6

Standing on the Sky - Part One, Author's Notes **Standing on the Sky  
Part One, Author's Notes  
By Aiko-chan  
  
  
**

If you're reading this, that most likely means you've finished reading part one of _Standing on the Sky_, a Rayearth fanfic.  


I'm Aiko-chan, the stupid little girl who wrote the story ^^ I hope you enjoyed it so far. Maybe you did, maybe you didn't. Either way, I'd love it if you could let me know, either by reviewing the story or by [e-mailing][1] me.  


I'd like to say that I'm not 100% pleased with part one of this three-part story. I like it all the way through, but I'm not truly pleased with my work until chapter four or so. There's still a few things I'd like to rework a little, but for the life of me, I can't figure out how to do it -.- So, the story remains as it is.  
  
  


I first thought of _Standing on the Sky_ on the way home from Mississippi, where my family was visiting my aunt and uncle. It's a long drive (we live in Ohio ourselves), so I had plenty of time to think.  


SOTS was originally supposed to be a Tenchi Muyo! fanfic, but when I tried to begin writing it, I found that I was having a hard time. I wasn't able to get into the characters well enough to write a good story.  


So, finally, I decided to switch the story over to a different anime. Magic Knight Rayearth, another of my favorites, was the only one that would work really well. But still, although MKR was the best match, I still had to change a lot of things in the story. I'm not as pleased with the story now as I would've been if I'd kept it TM!, but I still like the idea a lot.  
  
  


Now, if you enjoyed the story, you'll probably be wanting to read part two. Well, I'm starting school soon, so I don't know how often I'll be able to write. Plus, as some of you may already know, I'm currently also writing another Rayearth fic, titled _Kunpuu_. However, I'm having some trouble with _Kunpuu_ right now, and I find myself writing in SOTS more often.  


I don't know when the second part of the story will be done. I _know_ it'll at least be done by New Year's, so any time between now and then, it'll get finished.  
  
  


Well, I hope you enjoyed the story so far. I've only written a little bit in part two, but I already favor it over part one, so expect even better material when I get that out to you.  


Ja ne, and thanks for reading!  
  
  


[Aiko-chan][2]

   [1]: mailto:minako-chan@sailorjupiter.com
   [2]: http://www.geocities.com/souken09/



	7. Standing on the Sky - 2.1

Standing on the Sky - Part Two, Chapter One **Standing on the Sky  
Part Two, Chapter One  
By Aiko-chan  
  
  
**

The room was not comfortable. The floor had a carpet, woven with red and gold patterns, laid out on it, yes, but the material was thin, and the cold from the stone floor beneath soaked through.  


The walls, as well, were cold, gray stone. They had been that way in her old room, as they were in all the rooms of the house, but these walls were bare, save for the gold-framed mirror that hung on the wall opposite the heavy oak door.  


The girl sat, her legs folded to one side, on the straw-filled matress in the corner. That she could sleep on, but the straw itched and made her sneeze. She missed layers of cotton sheets on her bed in her old room that prevented the straw from irritating her allergies.  


The girl traced a circle on the cold stone floor where the carpet did not cover. She dug at the floor, getting loose dirt caught under her fingernail. Then she used the thumbnail of her opposite hand to scrape the dirt out again. A stupid, monotonous passtime, but a passtime none the less.  


After a moment's thought, the girl stood up, flinching as her bare feet touched the cold floor. She yawned, pulling her long, stringy black hair back away from her face, holding it back as though it were in a low ponytail. She looked over at the mirror on her wall. "Front garden," she said.  


The reflection of the dim room shifted out of view, and a picture of the front of the huge house came into view. Past the long dirt path leading to the front door and the flowers growing at its sides, she saw that the sun had already risen, hanging just above the horizon.  


She turned towards the closet as the image faded and the reflection returned. She released her hair from her grip, crossing over to the closet and opening one of the doors.  


After selecting a pale yellow skirt, the girl pulled off the old, off-white shirt that served as her nightclothes and put on the dress in its place. Using an ivory-colored comb sitting on the floor by her bed, she untangled her long hair, then pulled on a pair of socks and her brown boots.  


Once she was dressed, she stood in front of the dresser, splashing some water from the bowl on her face. There. That felt much better.  


The girl dried her face on the hem of her long skirt as she went to stand in front of the mirror on the wall. Smoothing her skirt, she sighed and said, "Spirit of my mother, please show your face."  


Again, the girl's reflection shifted from view. The pale, semi-translucent face of her mother took its place. Her dark blue eyes were sad, as always, but she wore a smile like the girl had never seen.  


"Mother, why are you so happy? I thought you and Father were unhappy now."  


"We are both still rather sad, and angry" the woman answered. She lifted her blue eyes to meet her daughter's golden yellow ones. "But we are happier than before." Her smile shone with pride. "Your sister has taken control of Farl Presea."  


"Mother." The girl's tone was flat. "Why are you telling me this? You're only making me upset. It was to be my job to command Farl Presea in the murder of the Magic Knights."  


"Oh, my dear child." The brown-haired woman touched her hand lightly to the glass. "You can't understand how much I would love that. Cerise is so young, and even though she's doing the right thing, I would rather not have her involved in any killing. You are mature enough to understand far better than she."  


"Then why not me?!"  


"Meline, sweetheart, calm your temper." The woman's expression was sad. "Your father and I would allow you to do the job, if you weren't sick."  


Meline folded her arms stubbornly. "I'm not sick. When have I ever done anything to prove that I might have even the slightest thing wrong up here?" She tapped the side of her head.  


"Just because you have periods of stability, like now, does not mean that you aren't ill."  


"I'm not crazy, Mother!"  


The woman's face grew sadder. "Oh, Meline, you know I wish I could believe that. But past events, and even recent ones, prove otherwise. You've done and said things that categorize you as mentally ill. You know how much that hurts your father and I, but that's the way it has to be."  


"I hate this. Cerise takes care of me. She's a child!" Meline's eyes were angry. "There's nothing wrong with me, but you keep me locked in here and have my little sister treat me like a prisoner!" She spun on her heel, turning away from her mother's face. "This isn't fair to me."  


There was a long moment of silence. Then, quietly, her mother's voice came to Meline from behind. "My dear, if you wish to prove that you are well again, then I have a task for you."  


Meline spun around again. "Anything, to get me out of here."  


The woman's face was grave. "If you don't succeed due to your sickness, you'll only be making it worse for yourself."  


"I'm confidant. I'm not insane. I can do whatever you ask me to."  


"All right." The woman locked her gaze on Meline's deep amber eyes. "You will help Cerise. You will lure one of the Magic Knights here, so that it will be easier for Cerise in completing her own task. Once one of them is here, the others will come, and Cerise can command Farl Presea to finish the job. I doubt that your sister can get one of them here on her own. That is your job."  


Meline nodded. "Yes, Mother. I promise that I'll do my best."  


The woman smiled sadly with a small sigh. "I do hope your best will be good enough. I love you, sweetheart."  


"I love you, too, Mother." The woman's face shimmered and disappeared, leaving Meline staring back at her own face. She scratched her nose, thinking. When Cerise brought breakfast, she'd tell her what their mother had said.  
  
  


--------------------

  
  


Fuu's voice was quiet and shaky as she relayed with she had seen to Umi, Hikaru, and Ferio. She would not look up to meet their eyes, and she kept her hands clenched together tightly in her lap. Her viridescent gaze was fixed on the intertwined fingers, and nothing else.  


Ferio sat with his arm around the blond girl's shoulders, holding her to his side. Umi listened with her hand pressed over her mouth; Hikaru stared at her shoes, playing with the hem of her skirt. The redhead wouldn't make eye contact with anyone, either.  


As she finished, Fuu took a deep, shaky breath. She allowed Ferio to take her hand, and he squeezed it reassuringly, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. "I'm afraid for Presea-san," she continued. She lifted her gaze, looking at her companions. "I do not know what happened, or where she is now."  


"That... that little girl," Hikaru said quietly, watching her own hands as she bunched up the hem of her skirt in little folds. "Could she have something to do with it?"  


"I hope so."  


Umi gave her a confused look. "You hope so? Fuu, I thought you said that girl wanted to make Presea kill someone."  


"I would rather have Presea with that child, and have at least some idea about whether she was safe or not, than to have no idea at all." Umi adverted her eyes as Fuu continued. "I do not think that the girl wanted to hurt Presea-san. I think she only wanted to use her for her own purpose."  


Ferio held her closer to his side, still holding her hand. "There's nothing we can do, Fuu-chan," he said gently as she leaned her head on his shoulder. "I know you feel bad, but we don't know where Presea is." He kissed the top of her head. "I want you to try and calm down. And it's almost dinnertime." Ferio smiled a little. "I'm going to be eating in the kitchen tonight, with you and those friends you have down there. I want all three of you to be there." He gave Fuu one more tight hug, kissed her lips lightly, then got to his feet. "I'll tell Guru Clef what happened to Presea. You girls don't worry --- we'll figure this out." Then he lifted his hand in farewell before exiting their bedroom, closing the door quietly behind him.  


There was a long moment of silence before Umi spoke up. "Should we get ready for dinner, then?"  


Hikaru shook her head. "I'm not very hungry, Umi-chan."  


"Hikaru-san, reemember what Ferio said." Fuu smiled slightly. "He's expecting all three of us."  


"Yeah, he'll kick our butts if we aren't there." Umi raised one eyebrow. "Besides, Hikaru, I think you'll like dinner tonight."  


The redhead's face brightened. "Are we having that orange fruit? I love that stuff!"  


Fuu's smile widened. "It is called a daudrite, Hikaru-san. I think we might."  


The petite girl thought a moment. "Well... okay." She got to her feet, pulling down the hem of her skirt to smooth out the wrinkles she had made. "Umi-chan, you can have my maudre. I really do have a pretty small appetite tonight."  


The three girls went out into the hall, shutting the door behind them. They were silent for the most part as they walked, their moods greatly mellowed.  


When they got to the kitchen, one of the huge doors was open. Beyond it, the girls could see that people were dashing around, some yelling at one another, shouting things like, "These are squishy! Get some fresher fruit!" and "Jana, what are you doing with those biscuits?! Put some hyredem paste on them, the sweetest you can find!" Above all of the chaos, however, they could hear Ferio's voice bellowing, "I'm telling you, just make a regular meal!"  


The Knights pushed through the bustle of people until they reached Ferio. The green-haired prince was standing there looking frustrated. "They won't stop!" he said in exasperation. "As soon as I said I was eating in here, they started fussing and trying to make the nicest food they have!" He shook his head. "I'm not fond of all the fancy stuff they make for us. I know they eat plainer things, and that's one reason I wanted to eat in here."  


Fuu thought a moment, then answered, "Let me." She grabbed the arm of a portly woman as she passed by. "Excuse me, Decaira-san?"  


Decaira turned to her, brushing loose pieces of dark hair out of her face. "Yes, Fuu?"  


Fuu looked over her shoulder at Ferio. "Ferio, this is Decaira-san. She is the head cook." She turned back to Decaira. "Decaira-san, Ferio wanted to eat dinner with us here in the kitchen tonight."  


Decaira nodded, beaming. "I know. It's an honor. We're working to make the best we can."  


"That is the point. Ferio would like a simple dinner, like the ones we always have here."  


Decaira looked at the blond girl, puzzled. "But Ferio-ouji should---"  


"Decaira, ma'am, please," Ferio said, laying a hand on Fuu's shoulder. "I hardly ever get a good, plain meal. Couldn't I have a break, just this once?"  


Decaira nodded. "Of course, Ferio-ouji. I'll go speak to the rest of the cooks." She hurried off, yelling at a young man to put those spices back right away.  


Umi motioned for Ferio to follow them. "The tables are in this room over here. Come on, Ferio."  


She led Ferio across the large room, weaving through women, young men, and teenage girls, until they reached the simple wooden double doors. Umi pulled one open, gesturing for Ferio to enter.  


Fuu took the prince's hand, gently pulling him towards the table where the three girls always ate with Larumele, Waemi, and the other girls. The Fuu sat with Ferio at two chairs at one end of the table; Umi and Hikaru sat on the chairs on either side of the table that were next to the end.  


Ferio smiled. "I'm glad to see that you all came."  


"Hikaru didn't want to come. She said she wasn't hungry." Umi grinned. "But we told her there'd probably be daudrites tonight, and she got enthusiastic about."  


He nodded. "That's good."  


Fuu smiled somewhat sadly. She could tell that he was trying so hard to keep their minds off the worries at hand.  


She rested her chin in her hand, looking down at the wooden tabletop. There was a small splinter sticking up from the smooth surface. Fuu dug her fingernail under it, peeling it up more, then took the end of it between her thumb and first finger. She peeled up the splinter until it finally seperated from the table, the free end curling in. It left a noticable gash on the table. She sighed.  


"Fuu-san," a smiling voice said, "you're scarring that poor table."  


Fuu looked up with a small smile. She recognized Yeiry's voice. "Konban wa, Yeiry-san."  


Yeiry sat down next to Umi. Hedaimo and Larumele had already found their seats next to Hikaru, and Nobyre was sitting in the last chair on the side where Umi and Yeiry sat. Waemi sat down in one of the two chairs on the opposite end of the table.  


Hikaru leaned one elbow on the table and gave the younger girls a puzzled look. "I don't mean to seem rude, but dosen't one of you usually bring the food in?"  


Hedaimo beamed. "Tonight is a special night."  


Ferio groaned. "I hope you aren't referring to me." Hedaimo's face flushed, and he looked confused. "What?"  


"Who's blushing now?" Larumele cackled, poking her friend's shoulder.  


Nobyre shook her head, smiling. "Some of the older women are serving everyone tonight." Her eyes gleamed. "It _is_ a special night."  


Hikaru opened her mouth to question why, but she didn't get the chance.  


From beyond the open wooden doors, two rows of women came into the room. The first six were carrying a wide tray in each hand; the women behind them were pushing small carts. Both the trays and the carts had plates, bowls, and mugs of steaming liquids covering them.  


One of the women with the trays came over to their table. She looked to be in her mid-thirties, but with the people of Cephiro, one could never be quite sure of someone's age. Her thin hair was a golden brown, and wisps stubbornly fell from the loose bun tied at the back of her head. She set one of the trays on the table, balancing the other on her hip and smiling at the people sitting at it. "Good evening, girls. Good evening, Ferio-ouji."  


The tray she had set on the table was filled with small plates of maudre. She took one off, setting it in front of Waemi, then repeated the action until all the people seated had a plate of the dark brown bread. It was still hot, fresh from the ovens. The yellowish fruit spread hadn't dried on the thin crust, but was still sticky. The maudre didn't often get to them when it was still hot.  


Waemi broke a piece off her maudre, sighing after she had finished it. "I've tasted some of the other kitchen workers' maudre," she said, "and I still think ours is the best."  


Fuu nodded. "You girls made this. I can tell." She smiled. "I can taste extra amals in it."  


Larumele, who made the fruit spread, grinned sheepishly. "I have a weakness for them."  


As they talked, the woman serving them took from the other tray bowls with pieces of fruit arranged in them. Wedges of dark orange daudrites lined the edges, with the long, thin strips of pale blue that amals were cut into crossed between them. There were some themins, sliced in half, neatly set in the middle. Across the top of all the other fruit lay a row of tiny, circular pieces of yellow fruit. Hikaru looked over at Ferio. "What are those yellow ones?"  


Ferio wrinkled his nose. "Pirilomes. They're really sour. Oh no, don't eat them!" he warned as Umi laid a finger on one. "Don't eat them, they'll make you sick. Just squeeze a little of the juice over the rest of the fruit."  


The three girls did as he told them. Then Hikaru grinned, pulling a piece of daudrite from beneath the amals and themins. She took a bite, then smiled wider. "I love these. I'm glad we had them."  


Waemi nodded. "Yeah. We don't eat them a lot, though. Daudrites are usually only used for food in breakfast or, during special occasions, dinner." She shrank back as the other kitchen workers shot her a glare.  


Hikaru, however, simply smiled. "Well, I'm still glad." She finished the wedge of fruit in one bite.  


After they had eaten all the maudre and fruit, the women started coming around again. First, the same woman as the first time came with a tray of steaming mugs. She set them in front of each person, and Nobyre took a long drink. "I love this stuff."  


Umi took a small sip. "What is it? It tastes familiar."  


"It's cider from daudrites." Hikaru's face lit up at Ferio's statement, and he smiled at her as she took a drink. "Yeah, I thought you might like that. It's one of my favorites, too."  


Another woman, dressed in a pale pink apron and pushing one of the small carts, came up to their table as she left the one next to them. She smiled at them with her light green eyes, taking plates of food down from the cart and setting them in front of them. "Enjoy your meal." After they were all served, she pushed the cart back towards the kitchen to get more food, her long, dark skirt billowing.  


Hedaimo pointed out the different foods to Fuu, Hikaru, and Umi. "That piece of meat there is kymarle --- you've had that before, we eat it a lot. The darker meat next to it is pyfol --- it's a water bird. Kind of like those things you told me about, Fuu-san. What were they called? Ducks? Yeah.  


"The shredded plant on top of the pyfol is hyredem. It's a grass. Then on the biscuits, that green stuff? That's hyredem paste. It's got juice from amals in it, so it's really sweet.  


"There's some themins there, and the piece of white bread is a pastry. It has chunks of yeral in a sauce inside, and there's some nectar from kisaheles with it."  


Fuu smiled. "Kisahele... Ferio showed me some. They are beautiful flowers."  


Hedaimo nodded. "They are."  


Conversation buzzed not only at their own table, but all around them as dinner wore on. It was a long time before their plates were cleared of all the meat, berries, and the delicious yeral fruit pastries, which had a sugary taste to them. The women kept coming around, refilling their mugs of daudrite cider or giving them more maudre or fruit if they asked for it.  


They sat for a little while, talking, after their plates were emptied before the women cleared them from the table. As they left, however, the women asked them to please remain seated.  


So they sat. The kitchen workers at all the other tables stayed where they were, too. There was still the buzz of chatter, but it was quieter now, as though they were waiting.  


Within a few minutes, the two wooden doors swung open. Hikaru looked up to see four women enter the room. Two were holding one of the large trays. On it sat a big cake.  


The women wove through the tables, coming up to theirs. They sat the tray in the center of the table. A grin spread across Hikaru's face.  


The cake had three layers, each half as thick as Hikaru's first finger. It was covered in a light yellow frosting --- Ferio told her later that it was dyed yellow from themin juice used for flavoring. Across the top, in thick red icing, wide letters read, "Happy Birthday". Lining the edges of the cake were seventeen red candles, each lit.  


Hikaru beamed at Umi and Fuu. "It was you! You remembered that it was my birthday!"  


Fuu smiled back. "Now, do you think we would forget such an important thing, Hikaru-san?"  


Hedaimo, who sat next to Hikaru, grinned. "Fuu-san and Umi-san told us it was custom in your world to blow out the candles and make a wish." She gestured towards the cake. "Make a wish, Hikaru-san!"  


The redhead smiled in reply. She stood up, leaning over to the cake. Closing her cranberry eyes, she wished hard.  


_Keep Presea safe._  


Hikaru blew out the candles. There were tears in her eyes as one of the women cut the cake into slices. She knew they weren't there because she was touched by her friends' thoughtfulness --- although she was, very much. But there were tears in her eyes not because of that, but because Presea wasn't there among the faces that were beaming at her.  



	8. Standing on the Sky - 2.2

Standing on the Sky - Part Two, Chapter Two **Standing on the Sky  
Part Two, Chapter Two  
By Aiko-chan  
  
  
**

"Anger."  


Presea shook her head. "No."  


Cerise stubbornly pointed to a spot on the page that the book she held in her lap was open to. "It says to feel your anger. Do it, Presea."  


The blond woman rolled her eyes. "Cerise-san, I understand that this training is important, but I don't remember anything about myself or my past, and there's been nothing to anger me since I came here. How can I feel anger when there's nothing to provoke me?"  


Cerise lifted one eyebrow, the brown line moving up above the dark red pool of her eye. "Shall I provoke you, then? Remember, Presea, that Papa has taught me all I need to know to help you complete your task." She closed her eyes, folding her hands on top of the open pages of the book. "Anger."  


After a moment's thought, Presea sighed, shutting her eyes. She needed to feel anger, or Cerise wouldn't go on. So, she'd have to provoke herself.  


_It's your own fault, you know. It's your own fault you lost your memory. Cerise said it's just a side affect of your commitment to her orders, but you know that isn't true. You made some mistake; you messed up your own life._  


Anger, anger at herself, bubbled inside Presea. She opened her eyes. Cerise was watching her. She closed her eyes again. She needed to encourage the anger.  


_You were probably a horrible person. I bet you killed people, just like you're going to kill the Magic Knights for Cerise. But you know the Magic Knights are evil --- they killed Cerise's parents without reason. But I bet you killed innocent people.  
_

Or maybe it wasn't that kind of horrible thing. Maybe you were cruel. Maybe you made people feel terrible about themselves. I bet you did. You're a horrible person. It's all the better that you can't remember the things you did.  


Presea clenched her fists as anger at herself, the things she was trying to lead herself to believe. The anger bubbled more --- it was beginning to boil.  


"That's good," Cerise said. "That's enough. I can tell that you've touched your anger.  


"That's the end of that part of your training." Cerise turned a few pages ahead in the book.  


Presea took a few deep breaths, unclenching her hands. She cooled the anger inside herself. "Cerise-san... What is the purpose of my touching different emotions?"  


Cerise tapped the pages of the book. "Papa wrote this book. It shows me how I should train you to your best ability.  


"Because you lost your memory when you committed to following my orders, one of your exercises in your training is to get back in touch with your emotions. Things that make you sad, happy, angry... By knowing your own emotions, you'll know yourself again."  


The pale little girl pointed to one page. "This is the next step: You need to learn your physical limits, and broaden their horizons.  


"According to what Papa wrote, you must fight so that you can figure out where your physical limits are. Then you need to train hard so that you can surpass those limits and become stronger."  


She snapped the book shut. "Come with me, Presea."  


Cerise tucked the thick book under her arm, hopping down off the bed. She crossed the length of her mother's bedroom, opening the door and stepping out into the hall, Presea behind her.  


The little girl led Presea back to the staircase on the opposite side of the hall. They traveled up the stone steps, their footsteps echoing in the small space, until Cerise stepped onto a landing on one side of the staircase and went through a doorway.  


Presea followed the small girl down a wide hallway. The cold floor was covered by a dark blue carpet, and paintings of bright landscapes hung on the walls. There were candles lit, one between each of the paintings, giving the hallway a dim, soft glow.  


At the end of the hall there was an oak door, identical to every other door Presea had seen in the house. Cerise knocked lightly on the door, calling out, "Meline?"  


The door swung open, revealing a tall girl who looked to be in her late teens. Her skin was a more healthy tan than Cerise's pale color, and her thin, jet-black hair hung limply behind her shoulders, reaching nearly to her waist. Her golden eyes flitted from Cerise's face to Presea and back again. "Is this Fa--- uh, Presea?"  


Cerise nodded. "I talked to Mama for a little earlier. She said she had given you a job, and that I was to let you out."  


"Thank you." Meline stepped out, shutting the door behind her. She walked beside Cerise as they headed back down the hall.  


As they got back on the staircase and began climbing upward, Meline asked, "So, what have you done with Presea so far, little sister?"  


"I read in the book Papa wrote that I had to teach Presea to find out about herself. She doesn't remember anything. I had her try to find out what sorts of things made her feel different feelings." Cerise smiled faintly. "Now Presea has to find out what her physical limitations are."  


Meline shook her head. "Now now, don't beat her up too badly, Cerise." She smiled faintly. "You seem to have a tendancy to overdo things."  


"Well, why don't you help me?" Cerise suggested. "I'm following Papa's instructions, but sometimes there's big words that are hard to understand."  


Meline considered the offer. Her mother had asked her to lure the Magic Knights to their home, but she didn't want their slaughter to take place here. She sighed. Meline hated to disobey her mother, but she would prove herself by aiding Cerise, instead.  


"All right. I'll help you train Presea." Meline glaced over her shoulder at the blond woman, grinning wickedly. "I hope you're prepared, Presea. I hear you used to be a weapon maker. I suppose you aren't good in combat by nature."  


After travelling down the stone steps a ways, they reached the bottom. Cerise and Meline showed Presea into the dank, empty basement.  


"Cerise is going to give you your weapons," Meline explained, "while I perpare for your fight. Wait with her."  


The dark-haired girl left the two standing by the door. She went through another door on the left wall, entering the room where Ryker was kept.  


Meline smiled as she crossed the room. Ryker, a fully adult dreygen, was dozing in the corner. She poked him, rousing him from his slumber. "Ryker, you need to come out now."  


The dreygen glanced up at her with dark eyes, as if it say, "Why?"  


"Please, Ryker. We need you."  


After a brief pause, Ryker hopped up. His eyes were shining, and he was wearing that goofy grin that was typical of dreygens on his muzzle. He followed Meline on four long, thick legs out into the main room of the basement.  


Cerise smiled as Meline emerged. "I have shown Presea how to use her glove to use magic, as well as a sword, a dagger, and a bow and arrow. Is Ryker ready?"  


Meline nodded. "He's ready." She petted the dreygen's head. "Presea, I'm sure you're aware of the habits of dreygens. They're friendly and silly, and would never think to harm another creature." She narrowed her eyes. "Unless provoked. When put in danger, dreygens can become deadly animals."  


Cerise handed a rod to her sister. Meline held it up for Presea to see. "This is a storm rod. I'm holding the wooden handle, you see, so it can't hurt me. But if the metal part touches a creature, it sends a bolt of electricity into their body."  


Meline kissed the top of Ryker's fuzzy head. "I'm sorry, Ryker," she apologized. Then she touched the metal storm rod to his side.  


The dreygen jerked from the pain. His dark eyes flashed, anger surging from the attack.  


"That woman!" Meline cried, pointing at Presea. "That woman caused it!"  


Ryker snarled, baring its teeth. Dreygens eat plants, so they have only flat teeth --- except for the two needle-sharp fangs used if they enter combat.  


The dreygen shifted its weight onto its two back legs, bounding across the stone floor towards Presea in a kangaroo-like fashion. It swiped its thick, heavy tail out, hitting the side of the woman's head and knocking her to the floor.  


"Defend yourself, Presea!" Cerise shouted.  


Presea narrowed her eyes, focusing. The jewel on her glove shone red, and a wave of light shot out of it, into her other hand. The light solidified into a sword.  


As Ryker swept one paw towards her, the retractable claws out, Presea swung the sword up, meeting the creature's paw with the flat of the blade. Ryker pushed his paw against the blade, swinging down under it and coming up, his sharp fangs in Presea's face.  


The blond woman fell back, and Ryker leapt upon her, sinking his fangs into her shoulder. Presea cried out, swinging the sword up and slicing a long, red line into the dreygen's side.  


Ryker cringed back, and Presea returned the sword to the jewel on her hand. She swung one hand forward with incredible speed; the air swirled around her hand, then shot forward with a loud, low rumble. The wave of thunder hit Ryker, throwing the creature back a few feet.  


The dreygen leapt back on its feet, swinging its heavy tail out again. Presea aimed a bolt of electricity at Ryker, and it hit his tail.  


Ryker let out a hoarse cry, and Presea summoned a bow and arrow from the jewel on her glove. She nocked an arrow, aiming it at the dreygen's throat.  


"_No_!" Cerise cried, trying to run forward, but Meline held her back. "No! Meline, you _can't_!"  


Presea let the arrow fly.  


"No! _Ryker_!" Cerise ran over to where the dreygen had fallen. She fell to her knees, throwing her arms around the creature and burying her face in its tan fur. "No, no..."  


Meline patted Presea on the shoulder as she passed the woman. She continued on, kneeling next to her sister, putting an arm around her. "I hate it, too," she whispered, her voice choked. "But Ryker had to die. Presea had to learn. I hate myself for causing it, but it's for the greater good."  


"Why Ryker?" Cerise wailed. "Why not capture a wild dreygen? He's been our friend our whole lives!"  


Meline bit her lip. "Gomen nasai, Cerise. I know you love him. I do, too. But it had to be done." She hugged her little sister tightly. "I'm sorry."  


After a few minutes, Cerise rubbed the tears out of her eyes and stood up, facing Presea. Her sister stood up next to her. "There are a few more things you must learn, Presea," the pale child said in a strong, steady voice. "Then you will kill the Magic Knights."  



	9. Standing on the Sky - 2.3

Standing on the Sky - Part Two, Chapter Three **Standing on the Sky  
Part Two, Chapter Three  
By Aiko-chan  
  
  
**

_"She is ours," they said.  
_

"I still do not understand," he answered. "I don't understand why you're getting me caught up in this. What is my purpose in your twisted plan?"  


The older one with the limp black hair put her hands on her hips. "It has been your destiny your entire life, although you never knew it. It's your destiny to protect the Magic Knight. If you don't protect her, she will die at the hands of Farl Presea."  


"But... I though you wanted her to die," he said.  


"We do," the younger girl answered. She fixed her blood-red eyes on his face. "But we know that you do not want her to die. We know you will protect the Magic Knight. That's why you know all about this."  


"Besides, your blood is satisfactory if we don't get the Magic Knight's," the older sister said with a grave grin.  


"So I tell you again, she is ours," the younger said. "Farl Presea is in our hands. She is learning more lies about herself every day."  


"Farl Presea has come to believe that she is a terrible person." The older girl spread her hands apart. "That isn't our fault. But in learning to touch her anger and discover more about herself, she invented lies that she was an awful, cruel person.  


"Also, Farl Presea has been training in battle. It has been a week since we took her, but she is already accustomed to killing other creatures." A pained look crossed the girls' face. "We had to sacrafice a dear friend of ours so that Farl Presea might grow stronger."  


"But," the younger said, "we are pleased with the results. So are Papa and Mama. Farl Presea is ours. She is ready. The Magic Knights will soon die."  


The older girl walked up to stand directly in front of him, her gold eyes narrowed. "Our parents died because of the Magic Knights' actions," she said in a dangerous voice. "Because of them, our lives were ruined. Now, you, and all those you care about, will suffer the same hell we did.  


"I will watch all of you in your pain as the Magic Knights die before your eyes, and I will laugh. And should any of you get caught in the crossfire, I'll laugh." Her voice cracked, and he could see tears in her eyes. "You deserve it. Every one of you deserves it."  


She stepped back, taking the hand of her sister. "Wake up," she said coldly. "Wake up, and think about all we've said. The time of death is near."  


Lantis's dark eyes opened. He knew that this was the last dream of this kind he would ever have. He knew the words of the dark-haired girl were true. They would send Presea to kill the Magic Knights soon.  


He ran his fingers through his hair. He had fallen asleep leaning against a pillar on the steps outside the castle. With a sigh, he started up the stairs.  


He needed to warn the Magic Knights.  
  
  


--------------------

  
  


Meline faced the mirror on the wall. She cleared her throat, smoothed out her skirt, then said, "Create an illusion for me."  


Her reflection shimmered, disappeared. A wavy, unclear image took its place on the glass.  


A dark smile spread across Meline's face. "Now is the time for action," she said coldly. "Now, the Magic Knights shall die."  
  
  


--------------------

  
  


"It's just outside," Ferio said.  


Fuu bit her lip, hesitating. "Ferio... it's nearly lunchtime. I'm not sure we should go out. They're expecting us..."  


"This is our last chance," he protested. "Fuu, the doctors are going to pick all these flowers tomorrow morning. There won't be any left. I know you love Cephiro's flowers, so I want to show them to you." He smiled. "They're beautiful."  


"Well..." Fuu considered a moment. "I... I guess so." She smiled. "What harm could it do?"  


"Exactly."  


Ferio took her hand, leading her out the main doors. They walked down the steps, and Ferio took her over to the edge of the gardens. He stood in front of one of the walls surrounding it.  


"See this vine?" Ferio pointed to a dark, dark green vine that was crawling all over the brick wall. Fuu nodded. "It's called a dramacus. You see those flowers on it?" Fuu nodded again. "They're called tulathels."  


Ferio picked a tulathel off the vine, holding it close for Fuu to see. The petals came to a sharp point. They were black, with red streaked through. "Doctors pick these right after they bloom. A lot of the time, animals eat the flower. The black part is toxic. It'll kill a man in two days, a dreygen in one. That's one reason the doctors take them off the vine.  


"The other is for more medical reasons. The red part of the petals is an antidote. If a person ever wanted to poison someone, a tulathel would do the trick. So the doctors have to keep medicine made from the red part in case that happens. It works on a lot of toxic things, really, but it's most effective with tulathels."  


"Why would they grow them here if they're so poisonous?" Fuu asked.  


Ferio shook his head. "Dramacus vines grow everywhere. You can't really control them. They're a weed."  


"Oh... like dandelions."  


"What?"  


Fuu smiled, shaking her head. "Nothing, Ferio. Never mind."  


She delicately picked a tulathel from the vine, cupping it in her hands and tracing the red streaks with a fingertip. Fuu began to turn around to ask Ferio if he knew anyone who had ever been poisoned by the flower, but she had only just begun to speak when his fist connected with the side of her face.  


Fuu fell to the ground, landing painfully on one elbow. Pressing her hand to her cheek, she looked up at Ferio, bewildered. "Na... naze?" she asked softly, frightened by the wicked grin on his face. "Ferio, why?"  


He didn't answer. Instead, Ferio --- or, at least, what she had thought was Ferio --- vanished from sight. A moment later, a familiar voice behind her said, "How foolish of you, Magic Knight."  


Fuu sat up straight, turning around to face the speaker, her eyes wide. The blond girl let out a small gasp. "Presea-san!"  


Presea smiled wryly. "Cerise-san told me you'd know my name."  


"Cerise-san?" Fuu got to her feet, walking over to Presea. "Who's Cerise-san? Presea-san, where have you _been_? We have all be so worried."  


Presea narrowed her chocolate eyes, hissing in a dangerous tone, "Get away from me, Magic Knight."  


A confused expression crossed Fuu's face. She didn't move, but looked up at Presea, puzzled. "Presea-san, what's wrong with you?"  


"I _said_, get away!" The blond woman shoved Fuu away roughly, causing her to stumble back a few steps before regaining her balance.  


"Onore," Presea spat harshly, glaring at Fuu. "Don't come near me again."  


Fuu stared at her in disbelief. This was not the Presea she knew. _What happened to her? Oh, Presea-san, what happened while you were missing to change you like this?_  


Presea grinned, causing a shiver to run down Fuu's spine, because the grin was far from happy. It was bitter, hard, and cruel. "Scream, Magic Knight," she said in a tone as bitter as her smile as crackling electricity began concentrating over her open palm. "Scream, and draw your companions so they might meet the same fate you will."  


The blond woman hurled what looked like a solid ball of lightning at Fuu, who had no time to react before the electricity hit her, racing through her body. She let out a shriek of pain, involuntarily dropping to her knees.  


"Aw, does it hurt?" Presea mocked.  


Fuu gritted her teeth as Presea began shooting small pellets at her. They pelted against her arms, legs, and back. Opening her eyes, she saw one fall to the ground, recognizing it as a hailstone.  


She passivly waited until the bombardment of hailstones passed, then got to her feet slowly. She ached all over from the icy pellets, but stood tall all the same. Drawing a deep breath, Fuu asked, her voice unsteady, "Presea-san, why are you hurting me?"  


"Because you're a filthy bitch," Presea snapped hotly. "You're a murderer, a heartless murderer."  


"What are you talking about?!"  


"You killed Cerise-san and Meline-san's parents!" Presea's coffee-colored eyes were firey, full of anger. "Do you know how many lives you Magic Knights have taken, or have you lost count?!"  


"Presea-san!" Fuu's voice trembled. "I've... I've only taken two lives in my own life, and you know that wasn't my choice!"  


Presea narrowed her eyes. "Liar!" she bellowed, snapping her hand forward.  


A wave of thick air and rumbling thunder slammed into Fuu's delicate body, throwing her back and causing her to land with most of her weight painfully upon her shoulders. She lay in the cool grass for a moment, trying to catch her breath through the sharp pain. She couldn't seem to get enough air into her lungs, though, and was still laying there when Presea came to stand over her.  


"You will die," she hissed. "I only regret that I wasn't able to kill you all earlier."  


Fuu cried out as Presea's boot connected with her ribs. She struggled to summon up a spell, but she couldn't manage it --- firstly because she couldn't bring herself to harm Presea, and secondly because she couldn't seem to find the energy while she took painful breaths and her body ached as it did.  


A ball of lightning was forming itself over Presea's palm again when both of them heard, "Fuu!"  


Ferio --- the real one --- burst out the heavy doors of the palace, running down the stairs with Umi and Hikaru dashing behind him. He ran past Presea, who had stepped back after she had kicked Fuu, and knelt next to the fallen Knight, gathering her gently in his arms. "Fuu, what happened?" Her gaze shifted wordlessly to Presea, and his followed. "P... Presea?"  


"Go away," the woman responded, her voice void of emotion again. "If you get in the way, I'll kill you as well."  


"Presea, what are you talking about? Where have you been?" Hikaru asked as she came to stand by Umi near Fuu and Ferio.  


The tall woman's eyes narrowed savagely. "Magic Knight," she hissed. She flung the electricity that was in her hand towards Hikaru. The petite redhead dodged it, but narrowly.  


"Hikaru-san," Fuu said quietly, her gaze focused on Presea, "something has happened to Presea. She does not seem to be her normal self."  


"Why did she hurt you?" Umi asked, warily watching Presea, who was shifting her weight from foot to foot, a scowl upon her face.  


"She wants to kill us."  


"Nani?!" Umi's sapphire eyes grew wide. "Presea, why?"  


Presea rolled her eyes. "For the Pillar's sake..." She sighed impatiently, still shifting her weight in an antsy way, as if she wanted to just get on with killing them. "You Magic Knights killed Emeraude-hime, which was horrible enough. But you had full knowledge of the fact that Cephiro crumbled further when you did. Do you know how many people died as a result of that? Cerise-san's parents were only two of them."  


"Who's Cerise?"  


"Enough stupid questions!" Presea snapped, unfolding her arms.  


Ferio lifted Fuu in his arms as he stood. "I'm taking you inside," he whispered.  


"But Umi-san and Hikaru-san..."  


"They can take care of themselves. You aren't hurt badly, you only need to get your breath back and rest. I just want you safe until you can come back."  


"Ferio, that's stupid!" Fuu protested, but the look in his eyes made her stop. She sighed, nodding. Ferio smiled slightly, hurrying back up the steps.  



	10. Standing on the Sky - 2.4

Standing on the Sky - Part Two, Chapter Four **Standing on the Sky  
Part Two, Chapter Four  
By Aiko-chan  
  
  
**

Shortly after Ferio had taken Fuu inside to quickly recuperate, Hikaru and Umi had donned their armor. Now they stood facing Presea, a miniature army with no desire to fight.  


Presea hadn't made any move to attack yet. She was standing twenty strides away, a horrible, hateful scowl on her face. She was radiating with hostility, and with the stormy magic they had seen her use, both Magic Knights knew she could cause a lot of damage.  


"But _why_?" Umi murmured so that Presea couldn't hear. "What happened to her to make her want to kill us?"  


"Fuu-chan said that Presea seemed like she was having a... a bad headache before she disappeared," Hikaru said, her tone thoughtful. "Maybe it's some kind of mind control." She was ready to say more, but didn't get a chance, because Presea chose that moment to begin stirring up the sky.  


The puffy white clouds overheard churned, growing darker as Presea held one hand up, her palm flat and her fingers splayed. The increasingly gray clouds turned an inky black; a low, ominous rumbling drowned out what Hikaru had been beginning to say as lightning flashed. Beyond the churning sea of dark clouds, the sky remained blue and calm, but over where the three stood, the sky was threatening.  


Presea narrowed her fierce eyes.  


Umi screamed as a bolt of lightning shot down from the stormy clouds and struck her, her powder-blue hair whipping around her face from the wind that had started up as her body went rigid, then collapsed. She supported herself on one elbow on the grass, gasping and trembling.  


Hikaru bit her lip. The fight had started. If she hesitated, she and Umi would die. She had to put her feelings aside. There was no way she would let Presea kill Umi or Fuu. But what if it came down to...  


No. There was no time for "what if"s. There was only time for action, no matter how heartbreaking it might be.  


"Flame Arrow!"  
  
  


--------------------

  
  


Having gotten her strength back and her armor on, Fuu hurried down the hallway in long strides, scowling in frustration. She was near the door when she spun around, nearly shouting, "Stop following me!"  


Ferio, Ascot, and the Knights' five younger friends from the kitchen, who had all been with her while she rested and were now trailing behind her in worry, came to a halt, startled. Lantis hovered behind Yeiry and Nobyre with less visible but still obvious concern.  


"But Fuu," Ferio protested, "we're worried..."  


"You're going to get killed! Stay inside!" She turned around, continuing down the hall.  


Another growl of thunder sounded as Fuu pulled one of the doors open, coming out onto the landing. Presea, Hikaru, and Umi stood beneath a minature storm, Umi looking shaken, Presea nursing a burn on her forearm that had seared through her black shirt and glaring venomously at Hikaru.  


Fuu took a deep breath, then looked over her shoulder at the group that had continued to follow her. "Go inside," she said, her voice grave. "_Now_."  


Ferio caught her upper arm in his hand as she turned to go. "Fuu, what if you need me?"  


"_Ferio_---"  


"I'm not leaving," he said, finality in his tone.  


Her viridescent gaze remained locked on his for a moment; then Fuu reached up, touching his cheek lightly with her fingertips. "Be careful," she whispered.  


"I promise." Ferio kissed her lightly, then added, "You be careful, too."  


"I promise." Fuu glanced over her shoulder nervously, then looked back to the five younger girls. "You girls go inside, at least. You have no way to protect yourselves."  


Larumele lifted her chin. "We aren't afraid, Fuu-san."  


The Knight shook her head. "You lie, horribly, Larumele-san. Please... I don't want you hurt. This isn't your fight."  


Fuu spun on her heel, hurrying down the stairs, already upset at herself for lingering and not coming to the aid of her friends sooner.  


The blond Knight raced towards Presea, praying silently that the woman wouldn't notice her. "Green Tornado!"  


Presea was thrown to one side by the fierce winds. A wave of guilt swept over Fuu, but she pushed it aside and began to run over to her friends. She hadn't taken two steps when Presea reached out, snatched her ankle, and yanked the Magic Knight to the ground.  


Getting to her knees, Presea whipped a short-bladed knife from the jewel on her glove. She pulled the girl up, wrapping her arm underneath Fuu's arm and restraining her with a hand on her shoulder, and brought the knife up swiftly. It hovered in front of Fuu, and Presea narrowed her eyes at the other two girls.  


"Nothing is going to stop me from killing you," the chocolate-eyed woman said, her voice brimming with anger. "Do you hear me? You'll die!" In one motion, Presea brought the knife back and rammed it into the blond girl's middle.  


"Fuu-chan!" Hikaru screamed, her teary voice mingling with Ferio's as he also cried, "Fuu!"  


Presea grinned her bitter grin as Fuu collapsed, the knife still stuck in her middle. The blond woman pulled out a sword to take its place, resting the tip on the ground. "Anyone else care to---"  


She was interrupted as Waemi broke free from her friends, who had been restraining her, and raced down the steps and across the grass, screaming, "Fuu-san!" She ran for her friend, and as she passed Presea, the woman lifted her sword and emotionlessly ran the blade through Waemi's chest.  


Fuu, lying on the ground right in front of Waemi, let out a choked scream. Expressionless, Presea slid the sword out of Waemi, and the girl's lifeless body fell to the ground.  


One of the young girls on the stairs screamed; Umi turned away from the scene and threw up in the rich grass. The storm that Presea had created had cleared away by now, and warm sunlight touched Waemi's body. Fuu, having managed to pull the knife from her stomach, reached out with a hand that shook and touched the young girl's dark head. "Waemi-san," she managed, her voice trembling more than her hand.  
  
  


--------------------

  
  


Nobyre screamed. She kept screaming, even when Hedaimo clamped a trembling hand over her mouth to shush her.  


Larumele had thrown up like Umi; Yeiry had her hands over her mouth, all the color drained from her face, murmuring, "Oh God, oh God, oh God..." Tears spilled out of her coffee-colored eyes, and Larumele, also crying, reached over and took her friend's hand. They clasped their shaking hands together, their tears turning to heavy sobs as Nobyre continued to scream hysterically behind Hedaimo's hand.  


Ascot stepped over, gently touching Larumele's shoulder. She didn't know him well, but the comfort was welcome. She and Yeiry fell into his embrace, sobbing into his summoner's robes. Nobyre finally stopped screaming, but instead began shaking so badly she could barely stand. Hedaimo slipped an arm under her friend's shoulders; Nobyre leaned her head on Hedaimo's shoulder, Hedaimo leaned her head on Nobyre's, and they both finally began to cry.  
  
  


--------------------

  
  


"How _could_ you?!" Hikaru had wiped tears away from her eyes, and now anger had settled in their place. Waemi, who she had eaten with every day, who had been there and helped in preparing Hikaru's seventeenth birthday party, who had teased Larumele about her crush on Kujin daily, was dead. At Presea's hand. The sight of the redness sliding down the blade of Presea's sword turned Hikaru's stomach, whether from sickness or anger or both she didn't know. "How could you _do_ such a horrible thing?! How could you kill her, Presea? _Why_?!"  


_That's right,_ whispered the familiar voice in the back of Presea's head. _It **is** horrible, isn't it? You could've let the poor girl worry over the Magic Knight. Just because the Magic Knights are terrible, that doesn't mean their friends are. But you're too twisted to see that._  


"Shut up, shut up, _shut up_!" Presea screamed, the sword slipping from her grip. "Shut the hell up!"  


Above her head, the storm clouds that had disappeared began to swell again, but in a more condensed space than before. The lighting was more frequent; the thunder was more of a sharp cracking sound than a rumble, and it was fiercer, more dangerous. The black clouds churned and boiled, building up a deadly storm in result of Presea's vicious anger.  


Tears stung Hikaru's eyes as she took a step back, but the stormclouds kept spreading, soon threatening to cloak the entire sky in blackness. The storm was no longer brewing --- by now it was boiling, churning and flashing and sending cold, roaring winds down, whipping her braid in her face as Presea continued to stare at her, her eyes afire and her face twisted in a scowl of pure hate.  


With a bloodcurdling scream, Presea snapped her arms forward. The inky clouds swept down from the sky, twisting around one another with a hellish, wailing wind as they funneled down between her hands and shot out, still cracking with lightning and thunder, speeding towards Hikaru. The redhead shrank back, covering her face with her arms, waiting for the rushing storm to rip the life from her body.  


But it didn't. All Hikaru felt was a fierce wind speeding past her on both sides; hesitantly, she lowered her arms and opened up her eyes.  


Lantis was standing in front of her, his sword drawn. The blade cleaved the storm, sweeping it off to both sides of them, but it was obvious by the way his arms slowly moved back that he was struggling, and that Presea's storm was too much for him.  


Hikaru's chest suddenly felt tight; the tears that had stung her eyes spilled out, and she lurched forward, throwing her arms around his waist. "Lantis, stop!"  


"Let go!"  


"No!" she shouted over the wind. "Stop it, you're going to die!"  


"Hikaru, let me _go_!"  


"_No_!" She could see his arms above her head trembling with the force. "_Please_, Lantis!" He said nothing, only gritted his teeth and dug his feet firmly into the ground as Presea let out another scream of rage, heightening the intensity of the storm. "Lantis!" For some reason, the shakiness of her voice frightened her. _Oh, God, this is real. He really might..._ "No! Damnit, Lantis, _don't_!"  


The vicious, cold wind whipped his hair over his dark eyes as he turned down to look at her. His brow was furrowed with concentration, but Hikaru's eyes met his, and she knew.  


"_NO_!!!"  


Hikaru saw his lips form the words, too quiet to be heard over the wind, before the tired muscles in his arms gave out.  


She was flung back as soon as Lantis's arms went limp against the raging storm. She managed to twist her body so her weight fell upon her shoulder instead of her neck, but the sharp pain in her body wasn't enough to draw her mind from that one thought, the one thought that scared her more than any other.  


When the furious winds died, Hikaru slowly pushed herself up from the grass. Her head hurt, and she was dizzy, but when she could focus well enough, she immediatly looked up for him. She wanted him to walk over, pick her up, ask her if she was all right, but she knew deep in the darkest corners of her heart that it wouldn't happen, would never happen again. But if she could only...  


"Oh, God." A trembling hand flew to Hikaru's mouth as fresh tears spilled out onto her cheeks. Her gaze was focused on the spot where he should have lay, lifeless, but he wasn't there. "Oh, God, no!"  


She was running on shaky legs now, running to the spot where he had stood relentlessly to protect her. Hikaru collpased to the grass, grabbing at the air where his body should have lain. But there was not body, not anymore. Whether it had been ripped apart or incinerated or something else she didn't know, didn't care. He was gone, really gone.  


"Bakayarou!" Hikaru fell to her elbows and knees, hot tears dripping off her face into the grass. She had nothing now, none of him left. Lantis's body, even though it would have been dead and cold and still, was still him, even in death. She had only wanted to touch him once more, to make sure... But she couldn't.  


Warm, foul-smelling vomit splashed her arm; Hikaru realized it was her own. Her stomach lurched again, but she swallowed against the upheaval, slowly rising to stand on trembling legs. Umi ran over, asking her something, but Hikaru tuned her out. All she saw was Presea.  


She had killed him, that ruthless, hateful creature standing over there with a slight smirk upon her lips. She had killed him, and she was _smiling_.  


It wasn't Presea. Presea would never, _never_ have done such a thing. And even if she was, Hikaru didn't care. She wanted her dead. She wanted that bitch to die a painful death as penance for her sin, and even that wouldn't be enough.  


Violent rage like Hikaru had never known exploded in her chest; she swung her sword out, running for the faceless blond woman as fast as her tired body would go.  



	11. Standing on the Sky - 2.5

Standing on the Sky - Part Two, Chapter Five **Standing on the Sky  
Part Two, Chapter Five  
By Aiko-chan  
  
  
**

Breathing had already been a bit difficult for Fuu, for the sharp pain and weakness from loss of blood, but it was even more difficult now. She was shocked, terrified. She had fought in battle before, but nothing like this. She had just watched two people die. _Die_. Forever. At Presea's hand.  


And as Hikaru ran at the blond woman, rage floating around her invisibly, Presea was smirking. She was pleased, somehow. _Oh, Presea, what have they **done** to you?_  


A light laughter, barely audible even though the loud wind was gone, distracted Fuu. She glanced over, seeing a girl with limp black hair standing a ways away from the fight, arms folded, smiling. Beside her stood---  


Fuu's eyes widened. That girl, that girl that had spoken to Presea. The pale, chocolate-haired girl, crimson eyes wide, was clutching a fold of the older girl's skirt, looking upset and frightened as they watched the fight unfolding. What was going on?  


Her attention was called back to Hikaru as Presea swore, wincing in pain, a gash along her thigh beginning to bleed, bright red against the black material of her pants. The woman swung her sword up in counterattack. The tip stuck in the armor over Hikaru's shoulder, and Presea angrily swung the blade up into the air over her head, pulling Hikaru along with it and causing the redhead to go flying past Presea.  


Fuu covered her mouth with her hand as Hikaru landed flat on her back with a small cry. Presea stood over the fallen Knight, raising her sword above her head---  


"Water Dragon!"  


A fierce jet of rushing water slammed into the small of Presea's back, shoving the blond woman forward past Hikaru. In a flash, Umi was by her friend's side, helping her to her feet. "Umi-chan..."  


"You were losing, Hikaru. You were too angry to fight her." There was a slight quiver of fear, or something similar, in Umi's voice. "Hikaru... I've never seen you so... so violent and... enraged." She wrapped her arms around the petite girl's shoulders comfortingly. "I'm so sorry."  


Hikaru gently pushed Umi away. "Don't worry about it right now," she insisted, although her friend could see the pain she was fighting down behind her cranberry eyes. "We have a fight to finish."  


The marine-eyed Knight nodded, sighing deeply as she glanced over at Presea, who was getting to her feet. "We do." She reached out, taking Hikaru's hand and intertwining their fingers. "Let's do our best, all right?"  


"Hn," Hikaru agreed, nodding, as Presea stood to face them.  


"I won't let you live," Presea insisted in a low voice full of violent menace.  


"Don't make us... don't make us kill you, Presea," Hikaru begged. "We don't want to do that."  


"Liar! Filthy liar, killing is your only satisfaction!" Presea's eyes were hard and blazing with rage. "You're as terrible as I am!" she cried.  


Umi balked, then retaliated: "What are you _talking_ about?!"  


"Just shut up!" Presea screamed, snapping a mass of lightning into her palms and hurling it at the two Knights that remained standing.  


Umi grabbed her friend's arm, dragging Hikaru to one side with her to avoid the lightning. Then, once she had released the redhead, Umi bounded forward, smoothly drawing her sword as she ran.  


But the blond woman, her chocolate-colored eyes dead of emotion now, save for violent anger, had an arrow nocked, aimed it at Umi, released. The Magic Knight of Water knocked the arrow away with her sword, leaping forward to attack the woman who had once been her friend.  


Presea shifted her weight to the other foot, leaning out of Umi's way as the sapphire-eyed girl thrust her sword. Then the woman aimed another arrow, letting it fly for its target.  


The brown eyes of the troubled woman were dull as dark blood spattered against her cheek. Umi collapsed to the ground, Presea's arrow protruding from the back of her neck, having pierced clear through her throat.  


A choked kind of scream shattered the frightened silence; Hikaru's hands were over her mouth, her chest heaving with uneven breaths. Fuu, lying in pain a short distance away, couldn't bear to lift her face to the scene.  


Presea stared in contempt as the tall, thin, brown-haired boy on the stairs flew across the grass, stumbling and falling to his knees in the grass beside the fallen Knight. He lifted Umi in his arms, his lower lip trembling with tears beginning to form. "Oh, God, Umi..."  


Her lips moved slightly, but no words came out. Her eyes were squinting, tears leaking from the corners. She lifted a heavily shaking hand, weakly brushing his long bangs out of his face, exposing frightened emerald eyes. Her lips formed a tiny smile.  


Ascot felt as though he were paralyzed as Umi's face twisted with pain, a strange sound escaping her as blood found its way unnaturally into her throat. A thin stream of dark crimson slipped from the corner of her pale lips, and Ascot hurriedly wiped it away with the end of his sleeve.  


"Please, please don't, Umi," he begged weakly, hot tears making their way down his cheeks. "Please don't leave..."  


Again, she raised one trembling hand, this time touching his cheek lightly. Her fingertips quivered so terribly against his skin; Ascot put his hand over hers, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb until the trembling subsided.  


"No..." He shook his head so slightly, still holding her hand against his face. "Umi, _no_!" The young palu wrapped his arms around her lifeless body, holding her close and stroking her powder-blue hair. Her blood stained his clothing; he didn't care. He didn't care.  


Presea, standing over them, coldly raised one hand, hot electricity crackling beneath it, preparing to bolt out and---  


"Presea, _no_!" The black-haired girl was running towards them, her gold eyes wide. She grabbed the tall woman's arm. "Presea, you _can't_ kill him!"  


"Why?" she hissed in response, her voice chilling but unaffecting to Meline.  


"Because," she insisted, her gaze quickly shifting from Presea to Ascot and back, "he's my brother."  



	12. Standing on the Sky - 2.6

Standing on the Sky - Part Two, Author's Notes **Standing on the Sky  
Part Two, Author's Notes  
By Aiko-chan  
  
  
**

Mm... that was perfectly horrible of me, leaving you hanging like that, ne? And the fifth chapter was so freakin short... In fact, all the chapters are getting short (probably because when I type up the story, I don't divide the chapters up on seperate pages; all five chapters are on one page, so it doesn't seem like they're that short). I didn't mean it that way ^^* I'm sorry, I really am, but that's it for part two. We'll pick up where we left off in part three, the next and final page of this trilogy.  


I know, you probably hate me now. Let's see, who all died?... Waemi, Lantis, and Umi. Ooh. >.< Geez. Well, I can tell you this, they aren't the only people to die. No, don't worry, there's not a whole lot more people dying...  


**sigh** Was it really that awful of me? I don't think so. I want the story this way. No, I'm not morbid. (Most of the time, that is -.-) Quite the contrary, in fact --- I'm hyper, love fluff, love all that sunshiney, rainbowy, cuddly-kitten-like goodness. I just realize that a little taste of the darker side of human nature now and then balances things out.  


If I offended you by anything, I'm terribly sorry. I'm not trying to make anyone upset, I'm just writing this how I want it. But if something offended you, stop reading right now. There'll probably be things in part three that are similar to things in part two. Gomen.  


Anyway... on lighter notes... How do you guys like Meline? Think she's crazy or not crazy? Only I know... and suzanami, because I'm a little snot and forced her to let me tell her a bunch of stuff about the story before I wrote it ^^* Anyhoo... yeah. How do you guys feel about Presea's (rather negative) character progression in her new identity? She's mighty heartless, ne? I know, it's terrible of me to say this, but I enjoy writing about Presea's crazy self-hate and violence. Maybe since it's a kind of vent for my own frustration. Maybe it's because Presea's such a neglected character in MKR fanfiction, and I'm turning her into the most important part of the story, even though that is a psychotically troubled woman full of rage and hate. Ooh. No good. -.-  


At any rate... I really want to know what you people think. If you hated it, tell me, but do so tactfully. I will _so_ beat you if you flame me. You have no right. I have the right to write this story how I want --- you do not have the right to criticize me over it. Boo ya.  


And also, I hope I didn't cause any nasuea or depression or tears... I doubt it, but I know some people have weak stomachs, depress easily over fics, or cry easily over fics (I'm a crying-type chick myself...), and I apologize if I made you do any of those. Don't make me feel bad, por favor ^^*  


Mm... Anyhoo, part three's on the way. Please be patient. I haven't begun it yet, but I'll br writing in it the next chance I get to snatch me daddy's laptoppy.  
  
  


Luv and cinnamon toast crunch, and may you find peace in the gluteus maximus of the spider monkey.  
  
  


[Aiko-chan][1]

   [1]: http://www.geocities.com/souken09



	13. Standing on the Sky - 3.1

**Chapter One**   
  


There was no doubt that Hikaru was completely overwhelmed. Waemi's death had jarred her heart, which had only just mended from the suffering that had scarred it; Lantis's death had broken it entirely. And now, the sight of Umi, her best friend, lying in Ascot's arms, her pale face framed by wispy powder-blue hair that had been speckled with the blood that had sprayed from her throat... Hikaru felt positive her heart was completely shattered.  


And, as if the fact that her heart had been broken into tiny, unmendable, jagged fragments wasn't enough, this dark-haired girl was insisting to Presea that Ascot was her brother. Her _brother_? Ascot didn't have a sister. He didn't have a family... Did he?  


A dizziness swam through the redhead's mind, disorienting her for a moment. She dropped to her knees so she wouldn't topple over --- her balance was thrown off by the dizziness. Not for the first time that day, Hikaru felt her insides contract and heave violently. This time, Hikaru didn't care enough to fight down the rising bile.  


Although the overwhelming feeling caused by the upsetting events that were being thrown at them constantly had affected Hikaru physically, the other Knight who remained alive was simply dazed. Fuu had already refused to believe Umi was dead --- although she knew her friend really was gone --- and she couldn't quite grasp what the amber-eyed girl was claiming. It didn't make sense. Nothing did.  


"Your brother," Presea said slowly, giving Meline a cold, skeptical glare.  


"Yes!"  


"How can you tell?"  


Meline turned away from her warrior; she knelt next to Ascot, resting her hands on his arm gently. "Hey... Ascot?" He didn't respond. "Ascot, look at me."  


There was a hesitation on his part, but after a short moment, Ascot turned his head to her. Meline reached up a delicate hand, brushing his thick bangs out of his eyes. A smile found its way onto her face. "Yeah," she confirmed to herself. "I know those eyes."  


"Me... Meline-san?" Ascot's eyes were frightened, hopeful, pleading, all at once.  


"It's me." She immediatly pulled him into an embrace, her head against his shoulder. "Oh, my poor little brother... I'm so... so sorry..."  


Ascot's breaths came unevenly. "Meline-san... Did you... Presea..."  


"Yes, and... I really am sorry, Ascot." Her golden eyes weren't quite tearful, but had a wetness about them that hinted she was nearly crying. "I... actually, Cerise is the one who took your Farl Presea... but I did play a part."  


"What did you _do_ to her?" Ascot's voice trembled as he stared at his sister in disbelief.  


"It was for Mother and Father." Meline grasped both of his hands in hers. "Ascot, it was the Magic Knights who caused them to die. You had already run away by then, you couldn't have known, but Mother and Father died because of the Magic Knights. Oh, Ascot, you can't understand how I hate them for that!"  


"But Umi---"  


"No, Ascot." Meline shook her head. "You're too close to them, so you can't see. But they're so..." She took a shaky breath. "I _am_ sorry you were hurt by this. But I am _not_ sorry the Magic Knight died."  


He stared at her for a long moment of silence, his emerald eyes wide. Then he turned from Meline, gathered Umi gently in his arms, and stood. He stared down at his sister.  


"You aren't my sister," he said gravely. "Not the sister I left."  


Meline was on her feet in the blink of an eye. "You expect me to be the same?!" she shouted suddenly. "You expect everything to be like it was when they killed our parents?!" Her golden eyes were wild as she clenched her fists in fury, screaming, "I _hate_ them!"  


Ascot turned away, heading for the stairs again.  


An enraged scream escaped Meline, tearing the silence that hung in the cool air viciously. She turned to Presea, her chest heaving with heavy breaths. "Kill them!" she shrieked, pointing at the two remaining Magic Knights. "Kill them both _now_!!!"  


Presea turned her head to glance at Hikaru and Fuu. Her chocolate eyes widened in surprise immediatly.  


Standing in front of the two Knights, tears streaming down their cheeks and fear causing them to tremble, but standing tall and proud with their hands joined, were Hedaimo, Yeiry, Nobyre, and Larumele.  


"You won't kill Fuu-san and Hikaru-san," Larumele announced, her voice shaky but the emotion behind it strong.  


"No... no more blood is going to spill today," Nobyre confirmed, perhaps with slightly less strength than Larumele, but her eyes were fierce and deadly serious.  


"Kill them, _kill them_!" Meline raged. "I don't _care_ anymore, just kill them all!"  


Presea raised a hand gravely.  


"_Don't_!" Cerise ran from where she had been standing the entire time, grabbing Presea's hand and lowering it. "Don't, Presea!"  


Meline grabbed her little sister's arm, pulling her away from Presea. "Get out of here," she hissed, "or you'll die, too."  


"Meline, we can't finish this," her pale sister insisted, her blood-colored eyes brimming with tears. "We were _wrong_!"  


"I don't care if she kills you!" Meline screamed. "If you want to live, get out of the way!"  


Cerise gaped in disbelief, then the disbelief shifted into realization. "You _are_," she said quietly. "Mama was right. You _are_ crazy."  


"Shut up!" Meline clamped her hands over her ears. "Presea, _kill them_!"  


Cerise let out a fearful cry, dashing past Presea as fast as possible and running up the steps into the arms of Ascot, whom she had by now also realized to be her brother, as the blond woman gathered a miniature storm between her hands.  


"Stop!" Hikaru shrieked at the four girls who stood, protecting them. "Don't _do_ this!" It was just like when Lantis...  


"We won't let her kill you," Hedaimo insisted, her voice full of tears. "Not while we can help you."  


Hikaru turned to look at her companion, her cranberry eyes desperate. "Fuu-chan, _do_ something!"  


The blond Knight's eyes were more sad than Hikaru had ever seen them. "I've tried, Hikaru-san. I'm not strong enough to build up a protection spell."  


Presea released the storm.  


Hikaru experienced a terrifying deja vu as the violent stormclouds raced towards them, wailing and twisting in a tight funnel. "Yeiry!" she screamed. "Nobyre... Please, _don't_!"  


She turned away, covering her eyes as the icy winds of the storm shot around the younger girls. Nobyre let out a small cry, dropping Yeiry and Hedaimo's hands to shield her face with her arms, but she, like the others, remained standing as the waves of thunder and snakes of lightning pressed against them.  


Presea forced the storm on, feeding it more violent strength. Meline stood just beside her, her long, thin hair swept back from the wind. A grin had found its way onto her lips as the four teenage girls began to weaken under Presea's magic.  


Her golden hair was whipping in her face distractingly, and her blood had by now dried on the front of her armor, but Fuu gritted her teeth against the remaining pain and lifted her hand. "Winds," she called, her voice lost in the roaring storm, "of Protection!"  


Through determination --- and fear for the younger girls --- she had managed to gather her strength by this time, and the greenish, barely visible winds shot from Fuu's palm, wrapping around in front of the younger girls and reflecting the storm.  


Relieved from their vigil, the girls collapsed to the grass. Hedaimo was doubled over in pain, and Larumele gazed at Fuu in apology. Her auburn hair, pulled from its pigtails by the storm, framed her pale face in messy waves as she mouthed, "I'm sorry."  


"Ferio!" Hikaru shouted, motioning for him to come over. The prince ran down the steps, followed closely by Ascot. The two darted through the storm that Presea still fed more rage, slipping into Fuu's protective barrier. Ferio gathered Nobyre and Hedaimo in his arms as Fuu cried out, "Hurry!" Her shield was already weakening.  


Ascot picked up the other two girls, and he and Ferio hurried back to the steps as Presea finally dropped her hands, killing off the storm. Fuu collapsed on the grass again, breathing heavily as her barrier thinned and disappeared. Hikaru knelt next to her, stroking her friend's hair with shaking fingers and murmuring words of comfort. "You did great. You did great. Arigatou, Fuu-chan. You did great."  
  
  


--------------------

  
  


Larumele was trembling uncontrollably. She had emptied her insides, and although the naseous feeling left with the vomit, she still felt sick --- sick to her stomach, sick at heart, sick in every way a person could be.  


Now she was lying on one of the cots in the infirmary of the castle, her heart racing and her breathing as shaky as her body. The Chizetan woman, Caldina, was rubbing her back comfortingly, continuously asking if she was all right. She had promised to watch the girls until the medic came.  


Larumele opened her eyes, gazing over at the closest cot. Nobyre lay there, her eyes closed in unconciousness, her face almost as pale as the nearly white-blond hair that fell in wisps over her eyes. Nobyre was in far worse condition that Larumele was, and the auburn-haired girl was afraid. Waemi was dead, and Umi. Lantis was, too, and although she hadn't even known the tall man, his death had shaken her.  


She turned her head as the medic came in, followed closely by Guru Clef.  


As the medic began to tend to Hedaimo, Clef sat next to Larumele, smiling in a forced way. "How are you, Larumele?"  


"Not so good. I mean... I'm not hurt bad or anything, but..." She bit her lip, avoiding eye contact.  


After a moment, Clef held out a small vial. "I made up a sleeping potion for you. You're in the best condition, and you'll probably feel better by simply getting some rest." He smiled sympathetically. "I expect you aren't tired in the least, but sleep will be best for you."  


"On the contrary," Larumele muttered. "But I'll take it anyway."  


Larumele swallowed the mixture, and her eyelids became heavy almost immediatly. She laid back down on the cot, closing her eyes. Clef rose to his feet, speaking something to her, but she had already fallen under the heavy sleep. 


	14. Standing on the Sky - 3.2

**Chapter Two**   
  


Wiping hot tears away with the back of her hand, Hikaru calmed herself. She was undoubtedly overwhelemed, and now frightened, for any of the younger girls might die. But she knew that, with Fuu too weak to even stand steadily, let alone fight, it was upon her shoulders to save them.  


Pushing away thoughts of _why me?_, Hikaru straightened her posture and faced Presea and Meline.  


"This is going to stop," she announced as strongly as possible. "I'm not letting you do any more damage."  


Presea grimaced. "You still stand. The other Magic Knight still lives. I won't stop until you're both dead."  


Hatred for the raven-haired girl began bubbling in Hikaru's gut as she glared at Meline. "Will I end up killing Presea because of you?"  


Meline smiled wryly. "That depends. Personally, I don't care if she dies. Presea is only a tool. However, I will make sure that you end up as dead as the other Magic Knight." Her amber eyes narrowed in menace as she continued, "You'll pay for your sin, you can be sure of that, but not even your death is compensation for killing my parents."  


"I _didn't kill them_!" Hikaru wailed.  


"Shut up!" Meline whirled around, eyes blazing, to face Presea. "Kill her!" she shrieked.  


Presea drew her sword slowly. She was sick of this stupid fight, but why not continue? The Magic Knight deserved to die. But Presea was so weary of battle that she couldn't find the motivation to raise her sword.  


"What are you _waiting_ for?!" Meline demanded. "Do what I told you to!"  


Clenching both hands tightly around the hilt of her sword, Presea closed her eyes.  


_Worthless. You're worthless. You hate the Magic Knight --- you hate them all --- but you can't even kill her. It's so easy. You're just too weak._  


Gritting her teeth, Presea felt the familiar fury at herself churning deep inside her. _Am I that weak?_  


_Yes. You're weak and horrible. How many have you killed? How many more will you kill? The only ones supposed to die here were the Magic Knights, but you botched that and ended up killing innocent people instead. Don't you have more self-respect than that? How could you stoop to that level? This was supposed to be revenge, not a massacre, you nasty---_  


She lunged forward, swinging her sword blindly. The Magic Knight's blood spattered on the grass as Presea spun backwards from the force of her swing, dropping to one knee as she lost her balance. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Hikaru pressing one hand over a deep gash on her exposed arm, the redness staining her white gloves.  


Getting to her feet, Presea turned to stand in front of the redhead. Hikaru began to move away, but Presea quickly brought her sword forward. The flat of the blade made contact with the side of Hikaru's head, knocking the Magic Knight down hard.  


As Presea moved to deliver a killing blow to Hikaru's unprotected midsection, the petite girl sprawled on the grass snapped her hand up, screaming, "Flame Arrow!"  


Her sword slipped from her hand, falling to the grass as Presea raised her arms to protect her face from the fiery blast. The flames seared through her black sleeves, and she cried out in pain and a high level of frustration. She retaliated instantly, sending a thick wave of thunder at the Magic Knight, who had by now gotten to her feet, and nearly knocked her down again.  


"Presea-san, _stop_!" Fuu begged from her position across the grass. Presea released a bolt of lightning in answer. The electricity cracked loudly, shot through the air, and darted into Fuu's body. She slumped from a sitting position to a sprawled one upon the grass, her eyes closed.  


"Fuu-chan!" Hikaru turned so quickly, her braid whipped across her face. "Presea, you _killed_ her!"  


"I wish." The blond woman raised her sword. "I'll finish that job later. At least she's shut up for now." She narrowed her eyes. "Now I'm going to kill you."  


Hikaru bit her lip, which had begun trembling from the threat of tears. She brought her sword up to block Presea's swing; the taller woman pressed the flat of her blade forcefully against Hikaru's sword. "I'm tiring of this, Magic Knight."  


The redhead squeezed her eyes shut, pushing back with her sword, too hard, perhaps, because she heard a dry scrape as her sword slipped off of Presea's from an odd angle and swept down.  


The nauseating stench of warm blood became present again as Presea's scream caused Hikaru to open her eyes in a jolt of fear. When she saw what she had done, her sword fell to the grass and her hands were pressed over her mouth against a scream, a sob, or yet another fit of vomiting, which she didn't know, didn't care.  


Presea dropped to the grass, curling up in a ball and cradling what remained of her left arm. It was barely a stump, hewed off halfway between the elbow and the shoulder by Hikaru's sword.  


As the fallen woman whimpered helplessly, Hikaru's watery carmine gaze shifted to her sword lying at her feet. Presea's blood was smeared across the blade, a sickening red in the sunlight. A weak sob escaped the Knight; she fell to her knees, taking Presea in her arms in apology as she verbally apologized: "I'm sorry, Presea, so... so sorry..."  


"Get off me!" Presea shoved herself away from Hikaru, glaring at her venmously. "Don't _touch_ me."  


The hot tears spilled out of Hikaru's eyes as she continued on, "I'm sorry, Presea. I'm sorry! I didn't mean---"  


Presea turned away, still cradling what was left of her arm, tears beginning to leak out onto her face. Meline glared at her, poison in her narrowed eyes. "Get up!" Presea didn't move. "What's _wrong_ with you?!" When Presea still ignored her, Meline scrunched up her brow in a poutful scowl. "_Fine_ then!" she half-screamed.  


Meline bent over, lifting Presea's sword from the grass. She lifted in in menace as she turned to face Hikaru. "I'll finish it myself!" she shouted, her stringy black hair falling over her eyes.  


Hikaru clutched one hand in the other nervously, backing away. She couldn't... she couldn't fight. Not anymore. What if it came down to killing this poor girl? No. She _couldn't_...  


"Meline!" cried a small voice. Cerise, hiding in Ascot's arms, reached a desperate hand out to her sister. "Meline, _don't_!"  


Meline ignored her.  


Ascot gently took his little sister's hand, lowering it as she leaned against him, whimpering regretfully.  
  
  


--------------------

  
  


Larumele jolted out of her deep sleep suddenly, awakened by a mournful wail. She sat up stiffly, still sleepy. However, she became wide awake immediately as she saw Yeiry hunched over Nobyre, sobbing, her long, blond hair hanging down around her face in curtains.  


Awkwardly, Larumele climbed down off her cot, moving over to Nobyre and Yeiry. She touched Nobyre's hand, and, feeling its complete iciness, realized what had happened.  


"Oh, Yeiry-chan..." Larumele sat on the edge of the cot, taking her friend into her arms. Yeiry leaned against her, still sobbing, clutching one of Nobyre's limp hands in both of hers. Tears leaked out of her sky-colored eyes as Larumele squeezed her friend tight, because even though she could lend some strength to Yeiry, who was so weak emotionally, she was still torn by Nobyre's death.  


She felt a gentle hand on shoulder, and Larumele glanced up. Waemi was standing behind her, her marine eyes overflowing with tears. "Wa... Waemi-chan?" Larumele gasped in disbelief.  


Waemi pressed her hand over her mouth, glancing away. "There... there isn't any time."  


"What do you mean?" Larumele let go of Yeiry, turning to face Waemi. "Waemi-chan, what're you talking about?"  


"I don't know. But someone else is going to die soon, unless someone saves them..." She sniffled. "I miss you guys."  


Larumele only half-understood the first part of Waemi's statement, but her eyes flooded with tears as she confessed, "We miss you, too."  


The dark-haired girl leaned over, putting her arms around Larumele, but her arms passed through the other girl's body. She let out a moan of regret.  


Then Larumele blinked, and Waemi wasn't there. She leapt to her feet, furiously feeling the air. "Waemi-chan? Waemi-chan?!"  


Yeiry lifted her face, her coffee-colored eyes brimming with tears. "Are you okay, Larumele-chan?"  


Larumele grew silent; she looked back at Yeiry, still clutching Nobyre's lifeless hand, and realized she hadn't seen Waemi, not even an apparation of her, she had only imagined it. Waemi was dead, and ghosts weren't real.  


The brunette shivered. The room was suddenly cold.  


Yeiry stood, finally dropping Nobyre's lifeless hand and gently resting her own hand on Larumele's arm. "Larumele-chan," she said, tearfully, almost voicelessly.  


"I thought I saw her." Larumele's voice trembled slightly. "I thought I saw Waemi-chan..." She turned, leaning her head down on Yeiry's shoulder. Larumele was taller, so it was awkward, but she didn't seem to care. "Yeiry-chan... there's something wrong with me."  


Yeiry took her friend's face in her hands, lifting her face so she could look up at her, then dropping her hands and folding them in front of the skirt of her apron. "Larumele-chan... there's something wrong with all of us."  


Tears sprung fresh from Larumele's eyes; she looked down into Yeiry's chocolate ones, and the heartwrenching expression in them caused her to fling her arms around her friend, drawing her into a tight embrace. "Yeiry-chan," she sobbed into the blond halo of the shorter girl's hair, and Yeiry's hot tears soaked the front of Larumele's apron.  


That was how Hedaimo saw them when she opened her eyes, summoning conciousness. She sat up with difficulty, but her arm buckled from underneath her, and she fell back to the cot mattress with a groan.  


Wiping her nose on her sleeve, Yeiry raised her head from Larumele's shoulder, her eyes red from crying. "Hedaimo-chan?"  


Hedaimo curled herself up in a ball on the cot, covering her face with her hands. "It hurts," she moaned.  


Sitting on the edge of the cot, Yeiry brushed Hedaimo's coffee-colored hair out of her face and leaned over her, rubbing her back and whispering comfortingly while her friend whimpered softly. Larumele leaned back against the wall, reaching over and touching the head of her already lifeless friend, stroking the white-blond hair with her fingertips as she watched the other two. Yeiry had so much trouble keeping her own emotions in control, but she was the most comforting out of all the people Larumele knew.  


Hedaimo moaned again, crossing her arms over her middle, her eyes squeezed shut against the pain. Larumele moved over to her, reluctantly leaving Nobyre, and sat with Yeiry on Hedaimo's cot, stroking her friend's hair in a comforting manner. Hedaimo whimpered painfully; her hand flew to cover her mouth as she began coughing violently.  


For the period of coughing, Larumele squeezed Hedaimo's other hand, reminding her that she was there, and when Hedaimo was done coughing, Yeiry gently pulled her hand away from her mouth. The two girls saw the specks of blood on Hedaimo's palm, and they sent each other quick, fretful glances.  


Then Hedaimo began coughing again, worse than before. Yeiry bent over her, hugging her tightly; after a hesitation, Larumele hugged her as well, because somewhere inside, they both knew.  


More blood came up onto Hedaimo's hand. Larumele brought the skirt of her apron up, covering her friend's mouth so she could drop her hand. Eventually, the coughing stopped, and Hedaimo's head rested back against Yeiry's chest while the blond still hugged her from behind, whispering to herself in a kind of chant, "No, Hedaimo-chan, no, Hedaimo-chan..." 


	15. Standing on the Sky - 3.3

**Chapter Three**   
  


The shadows danced against the pale landscape. Some of the shadows were dark in color --- maroon or navy or black. Others were grayish shades of pink, green, yellow, and pale purples.  


A shimmery kind of shadow, more gray than anything else, but with a hint of lavender to its color, wavered and shifted a few times before the glass, finally forming the smokey shape of a blue-eyed woman. She searched the glass desperately for her daughter's face.  


"Cerise," she begged in the voice of the shadows, which wasn't really a voice, but more of an echo of the words that would have been spoken if there had been a voice to speak them, "why haven't you come back?"  


She knew her daughter had gone to carry out the murder of the Magic Knights --- she had told her before she left. But why, oh, why was it taking so long? Perhaps it was just that it seemed so long because of the odd differences in time between the shadowy world and the physical world --- the shadowy world really didn't have time at all.  


She wanted to be alive, for if she were, she could view the wonderful event, see the wonderful blood of her husband's murderers. But if she were alive, so would he be, and there would be no revenge.  


She touched a faint palm to the glass. "Come back, Cerise," she begged voicelessly.  
  
  


--------------------

  
  


Hikaru cried out pitifully, flat on her back on the grass, as Meline dug her heel harshly between Hikaru's ribs. The redhead had accepted Meline's blows, sending her crashing to the ground and now enduring the fierce pressure to her middle.  


"Hikaru!" Ferio shouted from the steps. "_Do_ something!"  


"I can't!" She squeezed her eyes shut, letting the tears leak out. _I can't hurt her. She didn't... I can't..._  


"She's going to kill you!"  


_Who cares?_ she muttered mentally. _I don't have a life for her to take anymore. Umi-chan's dead. And Waemi-chan. And Lantis. I... what I did to Presea. I can't hurt anyone anymore._  


"But..." Hikaru whispered to herself, debating. _What would Umi-chan say?_  


_"Don't let this girl beat you. You're stronger than her! It's not a matter of hurting anyone anymore. If you don't survive this, how can you help the rest of them heal? How can **you** heal?"_  


Wasn't that what Umi would say? Or, at least, be her basic message? Of course. _And what about Lantis? Waemi, even. They would want me to win. They'd be cheering me on at the sidelines..._  


Hikaru narrowed her eyes, letting the magic erupt from within her. "_Red Lightning_!"  


The dark-haired girl reeled back, letting out an enraged cry as she covered her face with her hands, a shudder of pain shocking her as Hikaru's attack met her skin. Meline finally dropped her hands, grasped her sword again, and swung it down at Hikaru.  


The Magic Knight rolled to one side, narrowly dodging Meline's blade. The sword, however, stabbed into the cape on her armor, pinning her. She got to her feet awkwardly and pulled herself away, tearing the cloth with a fantastic ripping sound. Meline immediately pulled her sword out and attacked Hikaru again; the redhead brought her own sword up, causing a sharp clang as the metals met, an unknown element against escudo.  


Meline grinned wryly as she narrowed her golden eyes, her face inches from Hikaru's. "Kill me, Magic Knight," she taunted. She laughed. "Go ahead and try."  


Hikaru closed her eyes, biting her lower lip. _Forgive me._  


She released a thick rope of fire from her hand into her sword; it rushed through the weapon, spreading to Meline's blade and then to her hands and arms. The older girl screamed, tearing away and dropping her sword. The flames vanished, but Meline remained nursing her forearms. She glared up at Hikaru, gasping from the pain. "O-onore," she managed.  


Hikaru felt guilt welling within her. She was a Magic Knight, a warrior, and --- to some extent --- experienced at fighting. Meline was a normal girl, wasn't she? She probably didn't know much about combat. It wasn't fair.  


_Stay focused,_ she told herself. _This is how it has to be. It doesn't matter whether it's fair or whether you like it._  


Her thoughts were interrupted as Meline bounded forward, grasping the hilt of Presea's sword in both her hands and swinging it at an angle towards Hikaru's neck. The redhead brought her own sword up to block the attack, then plunged the blade towards Meline's stomach.  


The golden-eyed girl dodged Hikaru's attack, but not well. Her opponent's sword sliced into the edge of her waistline, tearing the green fabric of her clothing and instantly staining it with blood. Meline cried out, stumbling back and pressing a hand over her left side, wincing painfully.  


_I'm sorry,_ Hikaru cried out mentally, because she didn't want to hurt Meline, she didn't want to hurt anybody, not after all that had happened. But she didn't let her emotions get the best of her; she swiftly attacked again. This time, Meline managed to block the attack, and counterattacked immediatly, despite the blood still soaking her side. The end of her blade ran into the armor over Hikaru's shoulder when the Magic Knight began to move away, cracking the thick protection.  


As Hikaru wrenched away from Meline's blade, she stepped on a strip of red cloth hanging from her cape where it had ripped. Her balance was thrown off, and she tripped, falling to the side. She winced as her shoulder and upper arm took the impact, and continued to wince when the side of her head met the grass, not as hard as her arm, but still hard enough to cause pain. She stumbled to her feet, not pausing to wipe the grass stain from her cheek, and immediately found Meline's sword at her throat. Hikaru froze.  


"I hate you," Meline said plainly.  


Hikaru swallowed nervously. "I... I know."  


"You killed Emeraude-hime. And Sol Zagato."  


"It wasn't my choice..."  


"You killed my parents." Hikaru felt the coldness of the blade as it just barely touched her skin. "You killed them."  


Hikaru blinked hard, fighting back the hot tears stinging her eyes. "I didn't."  


Meline's amber eyes narrowed. "My father was not lucky enough to find sanctuary when Cephiro began to fall apart. He died a horrible, painful death, because the Pillar was no longer here, because of you."  


The other girl couldn't hold back the tears beginning to leak from the corners of her eyes. "I'm sorry..."  


Meline scowled at her, turned the sword sideways, and pushed the flat of the blade violently against the front of Hikaru's throat. She stumbled back, her hands flying to her neck, coughing from the blow to her windpipe.  


"_I hate you_!"  


Hikaru saw Meline raise her sword over her head. She began to lunge forward and, despairingly, Hikaru hung her head, clutching her own sword in both hands, unintentionally holding the blade outwards.  


There was a sickening sound that caused the Magic Knight to raise her head.  


Meline's sudden dash had been halted by Hikaru's sword, which had punctured through the older girl's stomach. Her golden eyes were wide, her arms frozen over her head with her sword angling back behind her, her lips slightly parted in an expression of disbelief mingled with pain.  


With violently shaking hands, Hikaru withdrew her sword. It was coated a bright red. Meline crumpled to the ground, drawing a last breath soundlessly, her eyes remaining wide and haunting even once life had left her.  


The reddened sword fell to the grass beside the body as a horrified scream cracked the air. 


	16. Standing on the Sky - 3.4

**Chapter Four**   
  


Two men came into the room and took away Nobyre and Hedaimo. Larumele and Yeiry followed behind them closely, and saw them place the young girls' bodies beside those of Waemi, Umi, and Meline. The two girls clung to each other, frightened and disturbed, but somehow at peace, in a way --- the fight was finally over, and they knew it.  


There was nobody else that they could see inside the building. They crept outside.  


The sun was setting, slowly, washing the sky in a bloody red light. Ferio was holding Fuu, who had regained conciousness but couldn't quite stand properly, and Ascot was cradling Cerise in his arms as she sobbed uncontrollably. Hikaru sat alone, the grass around her smeared with blood. Her sword lay next to her, stained a sickening red. She had her knees drawn up to her chest, with her arms wrapped around them, and she had hidden her face in her arms. Although her face was not visible, her despair was obvious by the way her shoulders shook with sobs, and by the way she was hunched over limply, as though she didn't have the will to sit up straight.  


Larumele began to move forward to comfort the redhead (Yeiry, all her emotional strength spent, had given in to weakness and had now accepted Ferio's offer of a warm arm; she leaned against him, and Fuu smiled sadly, resting a hand gingerly on the younger girl's shoulder.), but stopped halfway down the steps. She tilted her head back, staring up at the orange-and-red sky.  


The black silhoutte of a ship, suspended in the air, grew larger, larger, until it finally touched the ground on the other side of the gardens. Larumele did not move, unsure, and there was complete silence, save for Hikaru's muffled sobs, for a long moment.  


Larumele shivered; the sun was nearly down, and as the inky black-blue of night was creeping across the sky, nearing the sun, the cool night breeze was already beginning to blow. The foul stench of blood was carried away by the fresh wind, and the auburn-haired girl filled her lungs gratefully with the coolness of it.  


After the breeze began to coax the blades of grass to gently rustle, there was another short pause. Hikaru's sobs had quieted, but they still remained, simply less audible.  


The sound of footsteps came from the gardens. There were no voices. One couldn't see who was coming, for the storms Presea has created during the fight had torn vines and trees and bushes from their roots, and leaves and twigs were everywhere. Whoever was approaching had to push their way through a miniature jungle of sorts.  


Larumele still remained standing on the steps.  


The curtains of vines and branches was swept to one side, and three people came through. They were only slightly identifiable as men of Autozam, for only a tiny portion of the sun remained above the distant horizon.  


Hikaru's sobs became silent; her shoulders no longer shook. She raised her head slowly, revealing her face, tear-streaked, smudged with dirt and blood, with a mournful expression on. Her lower lip began to tremble.  


Clumsily, as though her legs didn't quite work, the Magic Knight stumbled to her feet. Then she was running, running as though her life depended upon it, only stopping when she had flung herself, with a despairing wail, into the gentle arms of Eagle Vision.  
  
  


--------------------

  
  


Hikaru slowly sipped the bowl of hot broth that had been offered to her, still trembling with one of Eagle's arms around her shoulders comfortingly. The liquid reeked thickly of hyredem, hinting that it ought to taste pleasant, but it only enforced the bitter taste in her mouth.  


The medic had attended to Fuu, who was as sitting near Hikaru, leaning her head against Ferio's shoulder. She stared at her hand, held tightly by Ferio's, for a long time before speaking.  


"They are tending to Presea-san."  


Hikaru set her bowl down, glancing up at Fuu hesitantly. "Will... she be okay?" Fuu nodded slightly.  


Ferio looked past Hikaru, who was now playing with her braid distractedly while Eagle stared at her worriedly, then said, "Ascot, c'mere."  


The tall boy came from the doorway where he had been standing, hesitantly entering the circle. Fuu patted the floor between herself and Eagle. "Please sit, Ascot-san."  


He sat down, and Hikaru looked up at him. He kept his head down, refusing to look up at them. His hands were tightly clenched, and by the way he bit his lower lip, she could tell he was fighting off tears.  


Hikaru tilted her head to one side. "Ascot." He didn't respond. "It's okay to... to cry."  


He hastily wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "Why should I be crying?" he asked. "I mean... you were so close to Lantis, and Umi, and everyone else that's... that's gone. I didn't even know any of them that well, except Umi and... and Meline-san..." His voice trailed off, and he fell completely silent again.  


The silence lasted heavily for a while. Hikaru's hands were shaking slightly as adrenaline wore off and a leaden guilt settled on her heart, but she knew it wasn't her fault, in truth, and she knew not to make the same mistake she had made the last time such a tradgedy had happened.  


The quiet was broken by a scuffling of feet and a small voice from the doorway inquiring, "Can we come in?"  


Fuu smiled at the girls standing at the entrance to the room. "Of course."  


Cerise found her way to her brother's side, nestling up against him in a search for comfort. He put one arm around her, although he did not look up. Yeiry and Larumele quietly seated themselves between Hikaru and Ferio, filling in the gap in the little circle they had formed.  


It was quiet again. After a moment, Larumele spoke up. "Nobyre and Hedaimo are dead."  


Fuu nodded weakly. "Clef-san told us."  


After finally draining the last of the broth, Hikaru set the bowl down again as she muttered, "This is so stupid." Her voice wavered tearfully, and she winced. "I... I mean," she continued hesitantly, "this morning, everyone was perfectly happy, and nobody was... nobody was dead. And now... it's been only a few hours, and everything's so different."  


Yeiry traced a circle on the cold floor with a fingertip. "Can... can I ask a question?" she asked hesitantly, unsurely. A few heads nodded slightly, and she glanced back down at her finger drawing on the floor. "Why'd... why'd she kill Waemi-chan?" There was a shakiness in her voice. "I mean... Waemi didn't do anything to her. She was just worried about Fuu-san... she only wanted to..." Yeiry squeezed her eyes shut; she no longer drew circles on the tiles, but now clutched the hem of her skirt in both hands in a gesture of helplessness. "I... I know it sounds selfish, but... it's not fair." She sniffled, glanced up. "Umi-san... Umi-san and Lantis-san... they were fighting, weren't they? All Waemi-chan did was go... go past Presea..." Her voice trailed off as she swallowed hard against tears.  


"Farl Presea was not... well, she _is_ not Farl Presea," Cerise said in a small voice, "not anymore. She doesn't remember anything about her life with all of you. All she remembers is from the time we took her."  


Ascot brushed his little sister's bushy bangs out of her crimson eyes. "Cerise, can you tell us what happened? Meline told us little bits, but she was... she wasn't clear."  


"Meline is... was crazy," Cerise said quietly. "When... when the Magic Knights killed Emeraude-hime, and Cephiro crumbled, Papa was out for his monthly hunt. His apprentice came back and told us Papa got crushed by a big rock that fell. Then... then Mama wouldn't eat or sleep. She... she died, too.  


"Meline went crazy because of it. Papa's apprentice locked her up, and he had spirit mirrors for us so we could look into the happy place --- the shadow place, where all the spirits live --- and still talk to Mama and Papa.  


"They were so angry at the Magic Knights for the suffering they made... Papa made a book. I don't know how, but he made a book that told me how to kill the Magic Knights. It told me to get someone close to them and make that person kill them. They didn't want me to kill because I'm so little.  


"I chose Farl Presea. Her mind was the easiest to get inside. I made her have dreams to tell her what was going to happen. I gave her a choice to either come with me or refuse, and if she refused, and I would make the pain in her head." Cerise lifted her face, shifting her gaze to those around her. "She refused. The pain took away her memory, and I made her a soldier."  


"To kill us," Fuu said softly.  


"Why did you kill Emeraude-hime?" Cerise asked tearfully. "I don't want you to be killed anymore, but _why_?"  


Hikaru tightened her grip on Eagle's hand. "Emeraude... had fallen in love with Sol Zagato. She asked... she asked us to kill her, so she could be free from her duty as Pillar and pray for only the man she loved, and also because her love for him was ruining Cephiro. The only way to fix it was for her to be killed and another to take her place."  


"But Cephiro is beautiful again," Cerise said. "Who took her place? I live very far away. I didn't know who the new Pillar was."  


Hikaru closed her eyes, and Eagle gently stroked her hair with his fingertips as she answered quietly, "Eagle and I took the Test. I was chosen to be the Pillar, and my first --- and only --- prayer for Cephiro was that the Pillar system might be eradicated. It was my wish that the people's hearts would decide the country's fate."  


Cerise smiled slightly. "That was a good wish." The redhead nodded slightly.  


Fuu glanced up --- she had been deep in thought during Cerise's conversation with her friend. "Why could we not return home?" she asked. "When we first came here this visit, we tried to go home, and couldn't."  


"I kept you here." Cerise's blood-colored eyes were watery. "I used my will. I prayed and wished and hoped very hard that you would stay here long enough for... for me to kill you."  


"You must have a very strong heart," the blond said gently, "to have been able to contain us here. Please... will you do a favor for me, and for the rest of us, and perhaps use that strong heart with only good intentions from now on?"  


Cerise nodded, promising.  


Ferio squeezed Fuu's hand tightly as she smiled at the small girl, then leaned her head on Ferio's shoulder. "I still cannot imagine how Presea could have grown so... so heartless."  


Ferio shrugged a little. "Dunno. Maybe she was fed from a bad futame or something."  


"A what?"  


The tiniest semblance of a smile formed on his lips. "Never mind, Fuu-chan. Never mind."  


"Part of Presea's training was to regain some parts of her memory," Cerise said, beginning an explanation. "It was good for her to forget her relationships with you so she could... do her job, but it was also good for her to know herself well. Part of that was a training exercise where she had to recognize emotions in herself and learn what made her feel that way. Somehow, during that training, she made herself hate herself even more than she hates the Magic Knights."  


"Presea..." Hikaru bit her lip. "I miss her."  


"So do I," Larumele said quietly. "She visited the kitchens a lot... we weren't really friends, but she was always so nice to us. Waemi was her favorite, I think." The brunette's voice cracked, and she fell silent.  


There was another lengthy silence before the door creaked open slowly and Caldina's head popped in the room. "Hey," she said quietly, "I found this puffball an' thought y'all might wanna see it." She half-kicked, half-pushed Mokona inside the room with her foot. "I'm gonna go now," she added, then shut the door.  


Mokona bounded over to the little circle with a "Puuuu!", and Hikaru scooped it up in her arms, hugging it tightly. "Mokona," she muttered shakily into its fur, "where have you _been_? I haven't seen you since this morning..." She squeezed her eyes shut. "Oh, Mokona, everything's so screwed up..."  


Fuu smiled slightly. "I... I remember Umi-san saying how she thought Mokona would be tasty to eat." Tears tugged at the corners of her eyes. "Perhaps we should make Mokona pie."  


"Or Mokona muffins." Hikaru laughed a little bit, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. She glanced at the faces of the others in the circle --- Yeiry, Larumele, Ferio, Fuu, Ascot, Cerise, Ealge --- and felt her mouth stretch into a true smile. Her heart was wrung with grief --- she knew it would be for a long time --- but she couldn't help but recognize the tiniest flicker of content within herself as she sat with the people so dear to her. It was very different from other times, without Umi, Waemi, Nobyre, and Hedaimo giggling with her, but it was also very much the same. That fact, along with the warm comfort of her loved ones, was enough to make her remember to be thankful for what she had left. At least she, unlike poor Presea, was not alone. 


	17. Standing on the Sky - 3.5

**Chapter Five**   
  


"When will you go home?" Ferio asked quietly.  


Fuu looked up into his golden eyes, saw the pleading expression in them. "After the funeral, I think." She glanced away. "I... do not want to go home, but..."  


"You have to." He wrapped his arms around her, embracing her gently. "I'll miss you."  


"I'll miss you, too." Fuu shook her head. "Ferio... what am I going to tell Umi-san's parents?"  


He stroked her hair gently. "I don't know, Fuu-chan. There's nothing to tell but the truth. You don't want to lie about Umi's death --- that would be dishonorable beyong imagining."  


"Would it?"  


"Yes. I don't know about your culture, but in Cephiro, lying about someone after their death, whether it be about how they died or something else, would be like spitting in their face." He sighed. "Maybe the best thing for you to do is nothing."  


"I couldn't tell them nothing," Fuu insisted. "To see their grief and know all the time that I could ease it, tell them she died well..."  


"Then the only thing to tell is the truth." Ferio still held her to him tightly. "But... you don't want to do that, do you?"  


Fuu shook her head. "No. This... Cephiro is our secret. It is perhaps the most important thing in our lives, this place and all of you here, but it's special, private. I can't imagine telling anyone."  


"Then don't." He kissed the top of her head, adding, "As for Umi's parents, whether you tell them or not, trust your heart in the decision. I think it knows what it's doing."  


She sniffled, burying her face in his shoulder. "Ferio..."  


After a moment, he looked down at Fuu. "Ne, Fuu." She looked up. "Do you want to go with Hikaru? She's going to see Presea soon."  


"Perhaps I should go... I don't think Hikaru-san would want to face her alone." She looked back up at him, pleadingly. "Please come?..."  


"Of course." He kissed her cheek softly, then took her hand. "Let's go, Fuu-chan."  
  
  


--------------------

  
  


Hikaru was much more at ease now. The story of Ascot being Cerise and Meline's brother had been cleared up by now --- Cerise had told her about how their parents had hated Ascot's beasts, and how he had run away from home long ago. And she felt at peace with herself, because after all that had happened, all that she had done, she now knew how to deal with such tradgedies. It wasn't as though Hikaru wasn't scarred --- she was, and she knew she would never completely get over what had happened. But she would not make the mistakes she had made in past events.  


However, even though she felt somewhat better than she had, she was still nervous about facing Presea. She hadn't killed the woman, but somehow, what she had done to her felt even worse. Perhaps it was the deep understanding she and Presea had once shared, their friendship. Hadn't she really been one of the first friends they had made in Cephiro? And look at her now, missing an arm, by Hikaru's hand.  


The redhead stopped, standing in front of the infirmary. She played with the end of her braid, hesitating.  


"Hikaru-san?"  


Hikaru looked over her shoulder, seeing Fuu and Ferio approaching, hand in hand. She felt a pang at her heart --- she was, somehow, reminded of Lantis --- but smiled faintly. "Yeah, Fuu-chan?"  


Her blond friend smiled. "We will come in with you."  


The shorter girl's smile widened. "Arigatou..."  
  
  


--------------------

  
  


Presea heard the door begin to slide open, and she turned away. She heard the soft voice of the Magic Knight, unsure: "Presea?"  


The woman said nothing, didn't move. She glared at the sheets on the cot she sat on, feeling the last traces of emotion in her heart draining out.  


Hikaru came to stand by her, Fuu and Ferio at her side. "Presea... I... I need to talk to you."  


Presea shifted her gaze towards Hikaru, her eyes reflecting that dull, dead expression that had been upon them for so long now. She was silent a moment, then demanded, "Go away."  


The redhead glanced away, once again playing with her braid. "Ano... Presea, I... I wanted to... to apologize..." She sighed, looking back up at the woman. "I know that what I... did to you is unforgiveable, but... I'm... I'm sorry all the same."  


The blond woman raised her head, making eye contact. A shudder ran through Hikaru; the bleak, hopeless despair, the deadness of those chocolate-brown eyes, disturbed her deeply. "I'm glad," Presea said in a dull tone, "that I killed the other Magic Knight, and I regret not killing both of you while I had the chance." Her eyes narrowed. "I'm glad that you suffer."  


Tears stung Hikaru's eyes. "Presea..."  


"I don't know who the Presea you once knew was," the woman continued. "I don't want to know. But this is who I am now, and I am not going to change."  


"Presea-san," begged Fuu from behind Hikaru, "please... can't you... can't you just _try_ to remember?..."  


"My life is empty and my soul is dead," Presea said, her eyes still locked in a solemn and eerie way. "I have accepted myself as something to hate, and I have been committed to a life in shadows. My heart is fixed, and even if I were able to change, it would be for myself, not for you." She spat out the final sentence: "I would _never_ do anything for you."  


The tears spilled out of Hikaru's cranberry eyes, and she leaned back against Fuu for support as Presea turned away again. _She's lost. Presea is lost forever._  
  
  


--------------------

  
  


In the place of the shadows, a smokey-blue shadow shimmered into a ghostly shape before the glass. The girl who had formed from the shadow leaned her forehead against the glass, the dry tears of the shadows welling in her sapphire eyes.  


"Oh, Presea," she whispered, "what have they done?"  


A sob shuddered her delicated frame, and she drew away from the glass, slipping into her shadow form again, stirring in her remorse and reentering the eerie dance of the dead.  
  


_________________________________________________________________________________ 

  
  
**Epilouge**   
  


The sun was slowly slipping below the horizon as she laid the bunch of grymiles delicately on Umi's grave. She touched the navy petals lightly, then closed her eyes, whispering a silent prayer in her friend's name.  


A breeze stirred Hikaru's long black skirt as she stood. Fuu came to stand next next to her, her arm around her friend's shoulders, and they stared at the neat row of graves: Hedaimo, Nobyre, Waemi, Umi, Lantis. Respects had been paid, prayers said, and now all that was left was mourning and healing.  


Hikaru felt Eagle's presence next to her; Fuu was on her other side. Yeiry and Larumele stood, sniffling in their black skirts, with Ferio and Ascot. Clef, Caldina, and the others stood behind them, each quietly mourning in their own way.  


Larumele stared at Hikaru, a deep sigh escaping her, the only sound in the quiet dusk. "It's vicious," she said almost voicelessly to Yeiry. "Life, I mean..." She shook her head. "There was no reason for them to die."  


"Yes, there was," her blond friend replied in the same quiet tone. "They died for the same reason they were born."  


"That being?"  


"To impact the lives of others." Yeiry's brown eyes scanned across the five gravemarkers, then rested on Meline's, set a small distance away from the rest. "I believe that people are born to affect other people, and they die for the same reasons. Each of them was so wonderful, and each of them made their mark. But their time of influence is done, and it's time for them to move on." She closed her eyes, holding back her tears. "I only hope that each of them is happy, where ever they are."  


The silence fell once again as the sun continued to slip below the hills. Then, there came the _tp-tp_ sound of soft boots on the polished stone steps behind them. The tall woman made her way across the grass, a golden-yellow flower in her single hand.  


Presea knelt in front of Meline's grave, laying the solitary nyra flower on the raised bit of ground. Then she rested her hand on the soft grass, whispering words that were never known to anyone but herself and Meline.  


The woman stood, turning her back to the congregated people. She began walking away, and she did not look back once, nor show any sign of hesitation as she disappeared into the sunset. 


	18. Standing on the Sky - 3.6

**Standing on the Sky  
Author's Notes, Part Three**  
  
  


_Standing on the Sky_ ends here. The things that are left untold are intended that way, and the things half-explained were intended that way.  


Yes, there _was_ a reason that each character died who did. I didn't kill any of them for no reason, or for kicks or anything weird like that. Waemi's death was a bit of a tool: when she died, the fight became more emotional and sped up a bit in that sense. It got things moving. It also brought out character traits in the other kitchen girls: Nobyre's deep friendship with Waemi, Yeiry's inability to cope with her emotions, etc.  


I suppose people can determine reasons why Lantis and Umi might have died... if not, I apologize for not explaining my reasons. However, I feel that many people might wonder, "Why the heck did you kill off some kitchen girls?!"  


Nobyre fell unconcious after she and the other girls had protected Fuu, Umi, and Hikaru. She never woke up, but died in her sleeping state. She was the weakest of the five girls, and the violence of Presea's storm was too much for her frailty. She wasn't strong enough to live after that. Her death came about because she was actually quite weak, and because of that I found it sensible and realistic for her to die.  


Hedaimo died, in truth, mostly due to a medical miscalculation. She _was_ badly hurt by Presea, but she would have been fine if not for the medic. He had given her a painkiller made from grymiles (the same flowers Hikaru placed on Umi's grave) to help her, but Hedaimo was, in fact, violently allergic to the plants. It set off a deadly reaction in her stomach, one of the side affects being internal bleeding. That was the cause of her death; the _reason_ that she died was intended to convey the utter hopelessness of the entire situation. Her death was more symbolic, in some sense, than the others.  


Anyway... sorry for that long babble, but I _knew_ that _someone_ would find all the deaths unnecessary... but I had a reason for each.  


I hope that you enjoyed SOTS. I spent a long time on it and truly did my best. I'm considering a short sequel; however, if I ever do write it, I'll tell you now that it'll only be loosely related to SOTS. Blah, I can't explain it... I probably won't even write it, unless the public really wants me to and I have time and can develop it well enough.  


Well, this is the end. I dunno, I enjoyed writing this. I hope you enjoyed reading it. ^^ Be sure to check out the glossary and the information about the SOTS homepage!  
  
  
Luv and cinnamon toast crunch, and may you find peace in the gluteus maximus of the spider monkeys,  
Aiko-chan 


	19. Standing on the Sky - 4.1

**Standing on the Sky  
Homepage Information**  
  
  


Hey! I hope you've enjoyed the story. ^^ But did you know that there's a website for SOTS? Well, there is, and it's got junk that you might find nice.  


First of all, it has the story in it's original format. Yay! ^^ The chapters aren't on seperate pages, etc... It's different, and I like it better, personally.  


Also, the author's notes for all three parts are collected together for an overall author's notes. Additional to that is the glossary, the thanks/credits, aaaaaand... illustrations! ^^* Yeah, there's pics that I and my sister have done in relation to SOTS, and anyone is welcome to send in pics that they would want to draw.  


Please visit... even if you don't want to read the story in its original format, there's plenty of other goodies for you ^^  
  
http://www.freewebz.com/sots/  
  


Thanks! ^^ Luv ya! 


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